Queen Victoria Print Page

The statue commemorates Queen Victoria.  It was gifted to the city of Perth by Mr Allen Stoneham, a local and London mining entrepreneur in 1902.

It was a replica of another made for the Examination Hall of the Royal College of Surgeons, with the Queen’s robes given to the sculptor to copy the lace into the Carrara marble. The veil was also created in likeness of the Queen’s wedding veil. The pedestal contains bas relief sculptures of Edward VII and Alexandra who were the reigning monarchs at the time of the unveiling. 

Victoria (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. With a reign of 63 years, seven months and two days, Victoria was the longest -reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history until her great-great-granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her on 9 September 2015.

Queen Victoria`s birthday, 24th May, used to be called `Empire Day`. There were special assemblies at school with songs praising the British Empire. Children were then given a half-day holiday. Up to the 1950s, Empire Day was celebrated in Australia with huge bonfires and fireworks.

Yesterday afternoon the statue of the late Queen, presented to the people of Perth by Mr. A. P. Stoneham, and erected in King's Park at the cost of the Government, was formally unveiled by Governor Bedford. A large crowd assembled to witness the ceremony, including a select number of "brilliant and fashionable" people, who were admitted by special tickets. The weather was windy and unpleasant, and just before the ceremony started a heavy shower of rain sent most of the crowd scattering helter-skelter for shelter. "Dr." Hackett, M.L.C, opened the proceedings by formally presenting the statue to the Premier as a gift to the State.

The Premier, in acknowledgment, expressed the thanks of the people of West Australia towards the donor, and commended his example to other wealthy men who had made money in the State. He also delivered a lengthy and glowing eulogy of the late Queen Victoria, to whom, he said, Western Australia owed every constitutional privilege it enjoyed. At the conclusion of the Premier's address, the Governor paid his tribute to the memory of the late sovereign, and thereupon unveiled the statue, following which the band played "God Save the King." The assembled school children then sang the same anthem and the Commonwealth song of Australia, and cheers were called and given for King Edward and Queen Alexandra, after which the crowd dispersed.

The statue, which with its pedestal of granite attains a height of seventeen feet, is an imposing piece of work. It represents the deceased sovereign in old age, robed and crowned. Upon the base of the statue are bronze medallions in bas relief of the present King and Queen, as well as the inscriptions "Victoria, Queen and Empress, 1837-1901: During her long reign Australia was colonised and federated"; and "Presented to Western Australia by Allen H Stoneham, London, 1902." The statue is the work of Mr F. G. Williamson, of Esher, described as Queen Victoria's favorite sculptor. It is a copy of the statue which King Edward declared to be the most faithful marble likeness of his mother extant.
Sunday Times (Perth), 18 October 1903.

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