C.Y. O'Connor Statue

Victoria Quay (Fremantle Port South Wharf)

The first concept of a major C.Y. O'Connor statue, in 1906, was its incorporation into a lighthouse on the South Mole, an idea put forward by architect Herbert Eales. The next proposal, in 1907, was for a memorial garden outside the (present) Railway Station, which had just been established in that year.

Pietro Porcelli was engaged to create the statue, which was in fact positioned, when it was 'unveiled' in 1911, near the Harbour Trust office (on the site where the Fremantle Port Authority building now stands), where it could be seen from vessels entering the port O'Connor designed.

It was then, in 1928, moved to a position where O'Connor faced the gap between B and C sheds, standing in front of the Immigration Buildings—as if to welcome people coming to Western Australia.

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Ownership of the statue having been handed over to the Fremantle Port Authority in 1912, it decided, in 1974—the period of immigration by ship being over—to reposition the statue outside its new building at 'no. 1 Cliff Street', where it stands today—now looking northwards—perhaps towards the Kalgoorie pipeline rather than over the port.

Excerpt from paper by Keane:

C.Y. O’Connor Memorials

On many occasions, suggestion had been made that a memorial should be erected to honour the work of C. Y. O’Connor, the Engineer-in-Chief whose genius had created the Fremantle Harbour, ‘the front door to Australia’, the Coolgardie Water Supply and the railways. Sir John Forrest, on a visit to Perth in 1903, during an interview with Signor Porcelli, had expressed his great pleasure at the work of the sculptor and also told of his intention of arousing interest in erecting a suitable memorial to C. Y. O’Connor. In keeping with the tide of thought, Porcelli completed, by March 1906, a life-size bust suitable for taking bronze castings or a replica in marble.
In May 1906 J. Herbert Eales published a design of a lighthouse intended to be one of the fixed entrance lights of Fremantle Harbour: it incorporated a two-and-a-half times life-size bronze figure of O’Connor. It was the architect’s intention to seek Porcelli’s assistance so that ‘the features and perhaps other important characteristics of the deceased engineer might be unmistakeably reproduced.’
Meanwhile the sculptor made a brief visit to his homeland, returning from Naples on 30th January 1907. 30 On his return to W.A., he spent a few months prospecting in the Nannine district, but the search for gold proving unsuccessful, he returned to the port ‘determined to stick to art’.
The Goldfields’ Water Supply administration decided to place a bronze bust of C. Y. O’Connor in a prominent position at Mundaring Weir, and purchased Porcelli’s work, which was completed by 23rd July 1907 and unveiled soon after, seemingly without ceremony. It was placed at the southern end of the wall overlooking the waters of the Weir. When in 1951, the wall was to be raised, the memorial was moved to its present site on the opposite slope, and the Donnybrook freestone pedestal replaced by one of more durable granite.
A fibreglass replica of the bust adorns Kingsbury Park in Wilson Street, Kalgoorlie, as a mark of respect of the citizens of Kalgoorlie.
Sir John Forrest, while expressing pleasure that something was to be done as a tribute to O’Connor, considered that the Mundaring memorial was altogether inadequate. ‘What is required is a heroic statue, not a bust. I should say Mr Porcelli would be able to execute the design for such a statue in the same way as he did the one of my late brother in Perth’ and he hoped the government would soon move in this direction.
A suggestion by a member of the Chamber of Commerce in Fremantle, was taken up by the Fremantle Citizens’ League who in March 1907 asked for land outside the new Railway Station to be made a garden square containing a memorial to O’Connor, which would create an attractive entrance to Fremantle. A Memorial Committee succeeded in gaining Government assistance by promise of a pound for pound subsidy up to £500; and when municipal councils throughout the State were approached, many goldfields towns made substantial contributions. A One Shilling Fund was publicised through The West Australian and the Fremantle Evening Mail; Sir John Forrest offered £50 provided ten other equal donations were received and this was achieved. The final figure, with bank interest, totalled £1,599.19s.7d.
The Memorial Committee conducted an Australia-wide competition for a statue, resulting in seventeen entries, which were judged by Bernard H. Woodward, Director of the fast-growing Museum and Art Gallery; J. W. R. Linton, a well-known figure in the art world of Perth; and Joseph F. Allen, Mayor of East Fremantle and honorary architect on the Memorial Committee. Pietro Porcelli’s design was selected as the best and he was given the commission to carry out the memorial.
Porcelli designed the statue in conventional mode, the celebrated engineer standing bare-headed with one foot forward and arms crossed, the left hand clasping a roll of plans and the right hand extended in an attitude suggestive of thought, as he gazes out. The eyes of the figure are most arresting. Porcelli inserted bronze-work to represent the pupil of an eye, and by this cunning craftsmanship has achieved an expression of wonder. Many people have commented favourably on this unusual effect.
The statue was originally executed in clay and (apart from the bronze castings which were done at one of the principal foundries in Italy) everything was of local material. Of the sculptor's commission of £1,500, 75% was spent in Fremantle.
The statue, ten feet six inches in height, is set on a two-foot concrete foundation and a twenty-foot-high pedestal of local granite. The engineer’s name and years of his life are emblazoned within a bronze wreath on the face of the pedestal: on the side faces are bas-relief panels depicting Mundaring Weir, the Goldfields’ Water Supply Scheme and Fremantle Harbour, while the rear panel depicts the Swan View railway tunnel. Four bronze dolphins guard the four corners of the pedestal.
Pietro Porcelli’s masterpiece was erected in the grass plot adjoining the offices of the Fremantle Harbour Trust, with a view over the Harbour, and where it would be easily discernible from the decks of passing vessels. It was unveiled on 23rd of June 1911 by His Excellency the Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland, in the presence of a large gathering of representative citizens. Speaking at the ceremony, the Mayor of East Fremantle averred that the people of Western Australia had ‘more value for their money in this memorial than in any other similar work in Christendom.’
Sir John Forrest’s tribute took place almost a year later, when he presided at a ceremony where the monument was officially handed over to the Fremantle Harbour Trust. Sir John, after paying tribute to O’Connor as a man of integrity and honour, a man of unblemished character with an untarnished reputation, and a kind and generous friend, thanked the sculptor for his fine achievement and commented that it was a happy inspiration to create the engineer’s figure standing erect, ’thinking in bronze’.
The statue was moved from this placement in 1928 to a location close to the railway footbridge leading to ‘C and ‘D’ Sheds; whence in 1974 it was transferred to its present site in a traffic roundabout near the Fremantle Port Authority’s new offices.
A copy of the sculptor’s model today occupies a prominent place on the mantelpiece of the Council Chamber at the Kalgoorlie Town Hall.

References and Links

Dowson, John 2001, Fremantle: the Immigration Story, Fremantle Society.

Keane, Rev. Bro. S.B. 1981, 'Pietro G. Porcelli, sculptor, 1872-1943', Early Days, Volume 8, Part 5: 9-28.

Sculptor Tony Jones was responsible for the O'Connor memorial in the sea at the beach named for O'Connor. Around 2019 it was damaged - unsurprisingly, as it's just stuck out in the sea with nothing to warn of its presence - and was, unfortunately repaired.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 27 August, 2020 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/oconnorstatue.html (it was last updated on 15 March, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.