COLOURFULWORLD

Sunday 31 August 2014

Public Art in Perth 5 - Kings Park

In the wonderful Kings Park Botanic Gardens, close to the city's central business district, there are quite a few statues, my favourite being the statue of a Mother and child - The Pioneer Women's memorial. I will only post a couple of them, as there are quite a few, especially related to War memorials.

Pioneer Women's Memorial

This bronze 2,75mt high statue sits on stepping stones in the middle of a lake, with a couple more stepping stones scattered around it and surrounded by water fountains that sprout every 3 minutes..
It was sculpted by Scottish born Margaret Priest and inaugurated in 1968. At the time it was reported to be the biggest statue in Australia.
It represents a Mother with her child stepping forth to meet her destiny.



Here you can see some tiny ducklings and their Mother on one of the stepping stones






The statue in the middle of the lake surrounded by fountains































Cenotaph - War Memorial

Also know as Perth War Memorial, it was designed by Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, who was a General and architect and was unveiled in 1929. 
Built of granite with an 18mt obelisk, it is set on a podium over a crypt overlooking the city of Perth and Kings Park.
This war memorial honours those that died during World War I, and is one of many memorials in Kings Park, that honour the soldiers that fought in the various wars.
On Anzac's day on 25th April each year, the War veterans and families gather around this monument for a dawn ceremony.



Muttaburrasaurus

In the recreation area at Kings Park -  Synergy Park Land  there is an island with a fort for small kids, and a couple of pre-historic animals scattered around, one of them being this Muttaburrasaurus, who was an Australian herbivorous dinosaur.

During one of her visits to Perth, my daughter sitting on top of the dinosaur

Phytosaur

Phytosaur , a crocodile like extinct reptile, by sculptor Travis Tischer in 2010, is another pre-historic animal in Synergy Park Land.


Bullockornis

A feBullockornis, one of the heaviest birds on earth, found in Australia 15 million years ago, are another feature in the Synergy Park Land.




Rotary Wishing Well

The wishing well was unveiled in 1949, by Dr G.H. Wright of Rotary. Located on Fraser Avenue, the main avenue of Kings Park, near the Cenotaph.
It was refurbished in 2008 with a new wrought iron scroll around it, created by Antonio Battistessa. 
In the first year the Perth Rotary Club raised £632 in small coins, donated by the public of Perth, with newlyweds being the biggest contributors.



















These delicate metal structures in a pond in Kings Park, blend very well with the nature around. I haven't been able to find anything about them, but I still wanted to display them as I think they are very pretty.

Hope you had a great weekend!
Tomorrow is the start of Spring in Australia and Kings Park will be alive with wildflowers with Spring Festival running from the 1st of September until the 30th of September.

10 comments:

  1. Synergy Park Land sure is on the list - as well as the wishing well, still soooo much to discover!
    Hope you pay the festival a visit, too! :-)

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  2. Of course, I never miss the Spring Festival at Kings Park, there is so much to see and do the whole month! I usually only go there 2 or 3 times though.
    This year I plan to go to a Sunday open air concert!

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  3. What a nice park. Great fun with the dinosaurs and the ducklings were just adorable. Great photos Sami!

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    1. Thanks Sara, Kings Park is fabulous and huge! I don't think I've seen it all... I loved the ducklings too, so sweet.

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  4. Bela descoberta, essa ninhada de patos! :-) Gosto da ideia dos dinossauros endémicos.

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    1. O lago costuma ter sempre muitos patinhos, mas foi engracado ve-los todos juntinhos numa pedra no meio do lago.

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  5. Excellent shots from Kings Park Sami, as you say it's almost impossible to see it all in one visit.. Looking forward to seeing the wildflowers.

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    1. Thanks Grace, yes it's a huge park! Also looking forward to the wildflower festival.

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  6. Hi Sami, So nice to *see* you, I'm just getting back into blog land. Loving all of those amazing sculptures. Hope your having a Happy start to spring :-)

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    1. Thanks, Spring has started very wet and windy!

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