John Pascoe Fawkner statue creator weighs up Moreland Council offer
THE creator of a statue of founding father John Pascoe Fawkner is prepared to gift the piece to Moreland Council. But not everyone is on board with the idea.
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THE creator of a statue of founding father John Pascoe Fawkner is prepared to gift the piece to Moreland Council.
But would prefer the statue be returned to a site in the Melbourne CBD.
The statue of Fawkner (pictured) stood alongside a similar monument to John Batman in Collins St from 1978 until it was removed in 2016 to make way for a skyscraper built by CBUS Property.
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The statue is currently in storage and CBUS Property has handed over responsibility for its future to its sculptor, Michael Meszaros.
Moreland Council has inquired about taking it but Mr Meszaros said he had received an offer to place both it and the Batman monument back in the city.
“I’ve had a number of offers, three from private people who would like to have them on their properties,” he said. “To have both statues in the CBD in a public place would be my preferred option.”
Mr Meszaros said he would gift the statue, which cost $23,000 to create, rather than sell it. Fawkner has not been linked to attacks on indigenous Australians like Batman.
Moreland Mayor John Kavanagh said the ideal spot for the statue would be in front of the Moreland Civic Centre in Bell St, Coburg.
But Councillor Sue Bolton said there shouldn’t be monuments to “eras of genocide”.
Cr Lambros Tapinos said the council should consider a statue of a migrant or indigenous leader instead.
The council will consult with its indigenous community about the statue.
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