Burke and Wills monument to be moved to the Royal Society of Victoria

The iconic Burke and Wills monument will be relocated from City Square to the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RSV) to make way for the opening of Town Hall station as part of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project.

The City of Melbourne says it has been working closely with the Victorian Government on the design of the future City Square, which will reopen to the public later this year when the underground rail project is completed.

The council said that the most recent location of the Burke and Wills statue – at the corner of Swanston and Collins streets – would be one of the busiest parts of Melbourne when the new Town Hall Station opens.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece confirmed the RSV on Latrobe St would now lead discussions with the state government which owns the land to seek trustee permissions. The site is Crown land, permanently reserved for the use of the RSV.

“With the new City Square design confirmed, we’re working to relocate Burke and Wills to the Royal Society of Victoria on La Trobe St,” Cr Reece said.

Public artworks are often moved as the city grows and changes – and we have ensured the Burke and Wills monument will be displayed in a location that pays homage to these pioneering explorers.

“The Metro Tunnel project's new stations are expected to bring an additional half a million people into the city every week. We need to ensure our city's public realm is ready to cater for this increased number of passengers and pedestrians.”

The ill-fated journey of explorers Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills is one of the most recited episodes in Australian history, and the bronze and granite monument by artist Charles Summers is the oldest piece of public art in Melbourne.

Photos: City of Melbourne. 

Having been managed and maintained by the City of Melbourne since 1865 it has been relocated several times over the years. In 1993, it underwent two months’ restoration before being relocated in its fifth and latest site at City Square.

According to the council’s City Collection “some critics derided the work as ‘grotesque’, pointing particularly to the elongated necks of the subjects.”

The monument was removed from its site on the corner of Swanston and Collins streets in April 2017 to allow for the Metro Tunnel Project to begin and is currently in storage.

“Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills have been etched into Australian folklore for more than 150 years – and it is time their monument found a new home that pays respect to their history,” the Lord Mayor said.