The White Hat Guide to Seven Monuments of Melbourne

 

These short articles were published one at a time in the White Hat Melbourne Newsletter. As they form part of the White Hat Melbourne Quiz, exact locations are not given. However it should to take you only a little research to unearth that information.

Melbourne is full of monuments. Dead white males on plinths staring sightlessly into the middle distance, monuments to success, monuments to failure, monuments without plaques, monuments with secondary plaques explaining why the first plaque was wrong, and conceptual monuments to �place� which after a third re-reading of the plaque make one suspect that although the perpetrator may not be particularly skilled in the plastic arts they could certainly whip up a good arts grant application. Some of White Hat's favourite monuments are ones that are easily missed and which thousands of people walk past without realising their significance. Here are seven of our favourites.

No.1 � A Monument to Sydney-Melbourne Rivalry
No.2 � Two Yarra Bookends
No.3 - An Antarctic Monument
No.4 � Troubles on the other side of the world
No.5 - A Plaque but no Statue
No.6 - Two Pillars of Melbourne
No.7 - Two Horse Troughs

Postscript

Some questions regarding peripatetic monuments in Melbourne. A number of Melbourne�s well known monuments and sculptures have changed position over time. Finding landmarks in the wrong position at a given time is a sure fire giveaway of a badly researched book or film.

1. A sculpture called Vault once stood in the city square. What unkind nickname was it given and in what two major positions has it stood since being removed from the City Square?
2. The Eight Hours Monument stands diagonally opposite Trades Hall. What was its original position and why was it shifted?
3. The Burke and Wills Statue in recent years has occupied several positions in or near the City Square. What was its original position (hint � try page 1 of the great murder mystery yarn Mystery of a Hansom Cab) and why was it shifted? What was its second position (hint you will find it there in a Tom Roberts painting) and why was it shifted?

You can find many more questions like this at The White Hat Melbourne Quiz