Community-led Edith Cowan Geraldton statue project asks City of Greater Geraldton for in-principle support

The push for a statue of Mid West-born political pioneer Edith Cowan in Geraldton is gathering momentum, with a sculptor and $40,000 already committed to the community-led cause.

Details of the statue project have been revealed in City of Greater Geraldton documents, with council asked for in-principle support, but no financial contribution at this stage.

The venture is being steered by the Geraldton Voluntary Tour Guides Association. The suggested site for the statue would be in Edith Cowan Square, opposite the Geraldton Courthouse.

The association has already pledged $40,000 towards the project and plans to apply for grants. The estimated cost to commission and install the sculpture is $110,000.

Mrs Cowan, the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament and whose face graces the $50 note, was born at Glengarry Station in Moonyoonooka in 1861.

Smith Sculptors — responsible for well-known local statues including The Waiting Woman at the HMAS Sydney II Memorial and the piece of Monsignor John Hawes and his dog Dominie at the St Francis Xavier Cathedral precinct — is invested in the Cowan statue.

It has prepared a statue of the trailblazer to be installed at Anzac House in Perth and it intends to re-use the cast from that project for the Geraldton statue.

“The significance of Edith Cowan’s story and the celebration of this within the context of the State and country’s political history will contribute to a broader appreciation of the role that the regions have played in the development of this State,” City manager libraries, heritage and gallery Trudi Cornish wrote in a report to council.

Executive staff have recommended councillors approve the GVTGA’s request for in-principle support to commission the statue, that council officers help the GVTGA identify external sources of grant funding and agree to the suggested location on the condition that negotiations regarding an alternative site might be needed in future.

The GVTGA can apply for up to $20,000 under the City’s Community Grants Program.

Councillors will discuss the matter at its agenda forum on Tuesday before a final vote on December 19.