Theme Day - Statues - The footballer

Dressed in the woollen cap, sweater and tight knee-length trousers worn by rugby football players of the 19th century, this statue has the Neoclassical face of Apollo. Ironic? There’s more.


Our hero stands high upon a plinth overlooking green playing fields, every bit the macho-dandy, but look closely at his screaming hordes. There surrounding our rugger-bugger, like points of a compass, are four bronze cherubs. North to trumpet the kick-off. South to record the score. East invites attention with her naked behind. And, finally, West standing in glorious victory with the lion-skin of Hercules gracing her shoulders.


As if that is not enough, this Florentine sculptor has sprinkled between our cherubs hordes of tiny putti. Cupid was depicted as a putto, and putti were often shown in attendance on immortals.

Immortals! We are talking football here! This is sounding more like a statue fit for Melbourne and its leaping-leeroys.


Taking a broader perspective, we note the bronze lions, standing in attendance, one in each corner of the octogon base. England still protecting her offspring as it takes its first tentative step into nationhood.

This statue was commissioned by Sir Henry Parkes to adorn the Grand Drive in Centennial Park, to please the gentry as they perambulated in their buggys. I wonder if he knew that the Florentine tongue was wedged firmly in said Florentine cheek.

‘We won’ (aka The Footballer) by Tommaso Sani, 1893

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Statues - Henry Parkes

At the turn of the twentieth century, Centennial Park had 31 statues. Today only 6 remain and only two of those are originals. This statue of Henry Parkes was originally cast in 1897 and recast in 1998. Who was Sir Henry Parkes that he should forever gaze over this pre-eminent of Sydney parks?


On 1st January, 1901, Australia became a federation of states acting under a constitution. Prior to that, the continent housed a gaggle of squabbling self-governing British colonies all acting in their own best interests. On this date, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being. Parkes had taken a leading role in the negotiations and was known as ‘the Father of Federation’.


Born in 1815, Parkes and his wife emigrated to NSW in 1839. He had no schooling and few skills, but was personable with a fine turn of phrase. He lacked any semblance of financial acumen and was forever going bankrupt, as he was at his death in 1896 – penniless, with 12 children living, having been married three times. However, in the meantime, he had been Premier of NSW five times, mainly by recognising and utilising the skills of others.


Through the middle years of the century, Parkes supported issues like the ending of transportation, reduction of suffrage qualifications, and self-government for the colony. In 1883 he and Samuel Griffith from Queensland were instrumental in the setting up of a Federal Council to pursue Federation. Parkes delivered his landmark Tenterfield Oration in October 1889 and in February 1890 in Melbourne the first Federal Convention hammered out the contentious issues of colonial sovereignty. Amendment and counter-charge ensued for the rest of the decade, with the issue affirmed after the death of Parkes. He is buried, with his first wife, at Faulconbridge.