15. Thomas Moore Statue 1889 Sculptor: George Grant, White Carrara marble

Thomas Moore Statue
Made by H.F.E. Elliot, this marble statue on a pedestal faces east at the intersection of Sturt and Armstrong Streets.

The inscriptions are as follows:

West:
Presented to the City Council of Ballaarat by the following citizens; H.F. Elliot, The Honorable E. Morey M.L.C., Cr C.R. Retallick, Cr J. Heinz.

South:
R.S. Mitchell, P. Papenhagen, T. Elliot, J. Snow, G.K. Coutts, C. Bailey, J.J. Goller & Co, W.E. Ballhausen, G. Thompson, W.H. Figgis.

North:
S. Seward, F.G. Haymes, Craig Williamson, R. Giddings, G. Berry, R. Inge, J.A. Pittard, L. Lederman, H. Bremer, D. Jones.

Mayor William Little's report 1890 "The Events of the year have been numerous and noteworthy. The streets have been embellished by the unveiling of the 'Moore' statue which took place on December 3rd, 1889, in presence of a large crowd of spectators. The ceremony did not end with the unveiling. A Banquet subsequently took place at which the originators and workers of the movement received the mead of praise which was mostly their due."

Ballarat Centenary (1935) p53 "Our Irish citizens collected £1500 to erect a statue of their national poet, Thomas Moore. The stone for the base was imported from Ireland. The statue was unveiled by Sir Bryan O'Loughlin and presented to the City Council in 1889. It was placed in the place where for many years an open air retail market had been an eyesore in the centre of our beautiful Sturt Street.
In the same year our Englishmen collected £325 for a statue of Shakespeare. The amount in hand today is £900, and £2000 will come into the hands of the City Council from the estate of the late H.P. Stevens on the death of two beneficiaries."