Did you know that on 7 February every year a small celebration is held in Centennial Park? There are only three such celebrations held on that day around the world. Curious about what is being celebrated?
Tucked away in Centennial Park, Sydney is a very rare, and very sought out world treasure. It is one of only three of its kind in the world. It not only has an interesting origin, but a mysterious and fascinating life of its own. Some even suggested it was cursed!
It is internationally famous, meticulously crafted and heralded every year with the small celebration.
We know it as…the Charles Dickens Statue. And the celebration? It’s the Dickens Society gathering that marks the birthday of Dickens!
So, who was Charles Dickens?
Charles Dickens (born 7 February 1812) was a renowned English novelist and social commentator. You may know the name, but not immediately know what he wrote. Try this for just a few novels: A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
You could probably retire happily having written just one of these books, but to have written all of these (well, all up he wrote 15 novels, five novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively), he was certainly someone whose output was prolific. He created eternal characters such as Ebenezer Scrooge, little orphan Oliver (“Please sir, I’d like some more”) and Little Nell. Read more about Charles Dickens here.
The Australian connection to Dickens!
While Dickens himself never travelled to Australia, two of his sons – Alfred and Edward – emigrated here and were active in political and cultural life. Dickens’ favoured youngest son, Edward, was the Member for Wilcannia in the NSW Legislative Assembly from 1889 to 1894.
So, what’s the big deal with the statue of Dickens?
Here’s an excerpt from Dickens’ will…
Ummm…no one is to make “…a monument, memorial or testimonial whatever”. Hmmm…
How did a statue come about then?
Back in the late 1880s, a group of politicians led by Sir Henry Parkes were ruminating over their new project (ie. Centennial Park) and how true Victorian parks featured statuary. An allocation of £1,970 was eventually paid in c1889 to acquire 11 statues for Centennial Park.
This collection of statues was gathered together by Job Hanson, a well-known stonemason in Sydney at that time.
Some statues were purchased, and some were believed to have been created in Hanson’s stonemason yard.
The Charles Dickens statue was amongst this collection of 11 statues.
But Dickens said not to…
Exactly who made the call to include a Dickens statue is not known, however Sir Henry Parkes had corresponded on numerous occasions with Dickens in the 1860s, and was later to become friendly with Dickens’ son, Edward.
The statue of Dickens was debated heatedly in NSW Parliament, arguments were thrown around the chamber regarding Dickens stipulation in his Will and whether the statue should be destroyed.
Despite this debate (and despite Dickens’ own son sitting in that Parliament at the time), the purchase went ahead the Dickens statue was placed in Centennial Park around 1891.
The statue’s original location was on the junction of Parkes Drive and Hamilton Drive in Centennial Park, but was moved in 1897 to its current location on the corner of Dickens Drive and Loch Avenue.
Interestingly, the chief reason for the movement of the statue was that it made way for a statue of Sir Henry Parkes himself!
Deterioration and removal
As with many of the original statues in Centennial Park, the Dickens statue suffered over time from weathering, petty vandalism and other bumps and scrapes. In 1972, the Dickens statue was one of eight statues that were eventually removed from public display and placed in the Park depot for protection. The intention being to restore and return him at a later date.
A little mystery then starts to unfold…
What exactly happened next – and over the best part of the next 35 years – is a little sketchy and the statue was lost in the mists of time. Only recent research by NSW Public Works has pieced together some of the details.
The basic timeline as can be ascertained was:
- the statue was wrapped up for protection and sat in the Centennial Park depot for a number of years, it then ‘disappeared’ for the best part of a decade;
- the statue then re-appeared (headless…and missing a few other bits) as part of a collection of statues at a stonemason business in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle ear-marked for restoration. The stonemason went out of business (the Dickens curse?), and the statue disappeared again.
- some time in the next 25 or so years the statue found its way to the depot of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney where it sat unidentified.
In 2008 when a formally identification was made, and plans to repatriate him to Centennial Park were put in place.
So, how did they eventually recognise him?
The sleuthing Dickens Society in Australia played a large part.
Gaenor Vallack, a volunteer at the NSW State Library and member of the Dickens Society, was flicking through a book one day when she noticed a picture of a Charles Dickens’ statue. She asked the Society’s then President, Sandra Faulkner, about it, to much puzzlement and interest.
In November 2006, Sandra wrote to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Column 8 asking if anyone had any idea if the statue still existed and if so, where was it?
The request was republished in February 2007 and the Editor of Column 8 declared: “We must find Mr. Dickens”!
Later in February 2007, Column 8 jubilantly announced that the statue was found and had been “placed into protective custody by the Royal Botanic Gardens some time ago…necessary due to the damage inflicted by vandals (he lost his head)”.
In September 2008, the Royal Botanic Gardens offered to return the statue to Centennial Park.
NSW Public Works then committed funding to restore the statue, commissioning the creation of a new head, quill, scroll and finger for the statue. Work began in 2009 at the Alexandria stoneyard.
Dickens curse strikes again?
Throughout the restoration process, the stonemasons from NSW Public Works tell stories of the numerous challenges and obstacles they had to overcome in restoring the statue. They labelled them all “Dickens curse” on the project.
There was trouble sourcing the right marble stone from Italy. When eventually it arrived (after a long waiting period) it cracked and broke apart.
More waiting, more sourcing of marble. More mishaps.
The deadline for completion of the project was Dickens birthday – 7 February 2011. A major event celebrating the reconstruction and return of the statue was organised. The NSW Governor would be in attendance.
Eventually, the fantastic reconstruction work was completed and the statue lowered into place in Centennial Park the day before Dickens birthday (with the last element, the delicate finger, being attached as the statue was being installed in the Park).
A brilliant celebration becomes an annual occasion
A large crowd, and some very interested media, gathered on 7 February 2011 in Centennial Park to celebrate the return of the statue.
Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales, gave an emotional and very personal speech on her love of Dickens’ writing, and her own personal knowledge of, and engagement with the Charles Dickens Statue when she was young.
From this event has grown an annual tradition – members of the NSW Dickens Society now gather every 7 February and celebrate the birthday of Dickens, mimicking a tradition that has also grown up around the other Dickens statues.
Where are the other two statues?
A bronze statue of Charles Dickens, sitting on a chair with the Little Nell character at his feet, can be found in Clark Park, Philadelphia. It was cast (interestingly) in 1891.
Then in 2014 a statue of Dickens was unveiled in Portsmouth, England.
That’s it. Just three lifesize statues of Dickens in the world. That surely makes our friend a world treasure!
The NSW Dickens Society will be meeting in Centennial Park today at 2.30 pm to celebrate Mr Dickens. All are welcome to join!