$100k spent on new statue of Maryborough war hero Duncan Chapman

Nine years after a $60k statue of a war hero who was the first to step ashore at Gallipoli was installed in Maryborough, a second $100k version has been unveiled with a hunt on for a home for the original.

The state government has funded a new version of Maryborough’s Duncan Chapman statue, which has now been installed at Queens Park, after the original statue was damaged by floods and vandals.

The new $100,000 statue was unveiled on Wednesday, which marks the 136th birthday of the Maryborough boy who would become the first Anzac to step on to a battlefield when he led soldiers ashore from the first boat that beached at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915.

Maryborough citizens helped raise funds for the original statue, which cost $60,000, and was unveiled on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the landing.

The state government stepped in to fund a replacement statue when experts advised last year that the original sculpture needed to be kept under cover.

Jane Bailey and Mark Snell from Lava Worx with the statue of Duncan Chapman they created.

It had been damaged by flooding, which exacerbated earlier damage from vandalism and unexpected wear from a flow of visitors interacting with the life-size statue.

Former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Member for Maryborough Bruce Saunders announced in September that they had worked together to have $100,000 allocated for a replacement of the statue which had become a Queensland landmark.

The Fraser Coast Regional Council is yet to decide where the existing statue will be placed under cover, but it will be preserved for future generations.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said the Duncan Chapman statue had been visited by hundreds of thousands of people.

The statue of first man ashore at Gallipoli, Maryborough's Duncan Chapman, surrounded by water during the floods, much as he would have been on that tragic day in 1915.

It had been the catalyst for the greater Gallipoli to Armistice trail, a world-class memorial that was both poignant and educational.

“Queen’s Park is heritage-listed and the Anzac trail has nurtured a previously under-utilised corner with empathy for the original vision of the park being a place for reflection,” he said.

The new statue has been sculpted by Lava Worx of the Sunshine Coast, creators of the Lighthorse statue in Pialba, the Wounded Soldier in the Gallipoli to Armistice trail and other works in the region.

Nancy Bates and Maryborough MP Bruce Saunders with the new statue.

Gallipoli to Armistice Committee chairwoman Nancy Bates said the new statue would closely resemble the original version but more scrutiny of available photographs of Duncan Chapman had allowed sculptor Mark Snell to contour facial features to a closer likeness.

“We are grateful for the support of Mr Saunders, the State Government and the Fraser Coast council for the way they have backed this community initiative,” she said.

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