Docklands statues remain stuck in storage

Four out of five bronze statues of great Australian entertainers remain in storage nine years after being removed to make way for the Banksia apartment tower in NewQuay.

The statues of Kylie Minogue, Dame Edna Everage, John Farnham, Dame Nellie Melba and Graham Kennedy were installed in 2006 as part of a public display called the Walk of Stars.

The public art project was delivered in 2006 by ING, a former developer in NewQuay, in association with the Variety Children’s Charity. The project was supported by the Docklands Art Fund, a pool of funds for public art that developers in Docklands are required to contribute to.

Since 2016 the statues have been held in storage by Development Victoria. The statues are in a warehouse in South Clayton according to Peter Corlett, the sculptor commissioned to create them.

“I’ve sort of given up on them. It’s so disappointing and even hurtful to see them treated this way,” Mr Corlett, who is now retired, told Docklands News.

Mr Corlett created many public artworks in a career spanning more than 50 years. His work can be seen in places like the National War Memorial in Canberra, Treasury Place and McCelland Sculpture Park in Langwarrin.

Mr Corlett said he had never faced a situation like this, where completed work was sitting in a warehouse gathering dust.

The sculptor spent around six months working on each statue. He recalls a difficult working relationship with ING and Variety at that time as well as a legal battle with Barry Humphries over the use of his likeness.

The legal battle delayed the unveiling of the Dame Edna Statue for two years before the statue was eventually put on display in 2009.

Despite repeated calls for all of the statues to be put back on public display, only the Dame Nellie Melba statue has found a new home. It was moved to Melba’s home estate at Coombe Cottage in Coldstream in 2022.

“We are continuing to explore a range of options for the remaining statues,” Development Victoria’s Acting Group Head of Precincts, Imogen Lewis told Docklands News.

Mr Corlett has said he was no longer advocating for the statues after trying to help find a solution on numerous occasions.

He said he was doubtful that his statues will ever be seen in Docklands again. •