AN ‘unseemly’ and ‘deplorable’ event that took place at the Queen Elizabeth Oval more than 150 years ago has been permanently memorialised by a statue, which was unveiled to all and sundry late last week.<\/p>\n
The sculptured piece depicts 19-year-old school teacher and pioneering women’s cricketer Barbara Rae, who organised the first women’s cricket match in Australia during the 1874 Bendigo Easter Fair to raise funds for the local Hospital and Benevolent Asylum.<\/p>\n
The match was met with strong backlash from various media representatives, who held negative views about women playing sport in public.<\/p>\n
It is the first sculpture in Victoria to celebrate a female cricketer.<\/p>\n
The bronze figure, known as ‘Barbara Rae celebrates the win’, was created by central Victorian artist Lis Johnson, one of Australia’s most respected sculptors.<\/p>\n
Her body of work also includes monuments of iconic Australian sporting heroes in place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Rod Laver Arena, as well as various politicians situated within Canberra’s parliamentary zone.<\/p>\n
Johnson said she was happy with the completed piece \u2013 especially the movement and positive energy it conveys \u2013 after many months of research and design, creating and refining the clay model and working with a Melbourne-based bronze foundry.<\/p>\n
“I chose an exuberant pose that depicts Barbara celebrating the success of the event and the Blue team’s win in full public view, which would not have been condoned in 1874,” she said.<\/p>\n
“The many-layered period outfit is close to what the players would have worn during the game, and I relished animating the drapery forms and sculpting all the different textures and details.<\/p>\n
“I’m sure this sculpture will inspire curiosity and conversation for years to come.”<\/p>\n
Rae’s great granddaughter Diane Robertson said her family was thrilled to attend the unveiling.<\/p>\n
“Lis Johnson has created a beautiful sculpture that captures Barbara’s spirit and courage as a trailblazer for women and girls in sport,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It is a wonderful acknowledgement of Barbara and the other women who bravely took part in the match.”<\/p>\n
The sculpture is the first of six artworks to be presented as part of the $1.2 million Victorian Women’s Public Art Program’s second round.<\/p>\n
The program’s aim is to address the underrepresentation of women and their achievements through public art across the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AN ‘unseemly’ and ‘deplorable’ event that took place at the Queen Elizabeth Oval more than 150 years ago has been permanently memorialised by a statue, which was unveiled to all and sundry late last week. The sculptured piece depicts 19-year-old school teacher and pioneering women’s cricketer Barbara Rae, who organised the first women’s cricket match […]<\/p>\n