LATE KING GEORGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22345, 17 February 1936, Page 6

LATE KING GEORGE

MELBOURNE'S MEMORIAL EARLY DECISION LIKELY EQUESTRIAN STATUE FAVOURED [from oue own* correspondent] MELBOURNE, Feb. 6 Melbourne was quick to initiate a movement for the erection of a worthy memorial to King George. Bordering the well-known St. Kilda Road there are statues of Queen Victoria and King Edward Vll., and it. is not surprising that first suggestions have been for the erection in the same neighbourhood of a statue of King George. However, the old argument*, familiar, war memorial era, has arisen regarding whether or not the tribute should be utilitarian. A proposal which has won wide favour is the erection of an equestrian statue of the late King in front of the State Parliament as part of a scheme for the completion of the building. The facade of Parliament House, which occupies a commanding site at the top of Bourke Street, is universally admired, but the impressive front conceals the incom. pleteness of the whole block, a situation which is similar in some respects to Parliament Buildings in Wellington. It is felt that a dome should surmount the building. Protests have been raised against using memorial funds for/ such a purpose, but it has since been pointed out that the suggestion was based on the supposition that the State would finance the completion of Parliament House, leaving funds specially subscribed for a memorial to be spent exclusively on that purpose. A meeting of citizens, convened by the Premier, Mr. Dunstan, and the Lord Mayor, Mr. A. G. Wales, will be held late this week, when it is expected that a decision will be made to lauijch a public appeal, and a committee will be appointed to examine suggestions regarding the form the memorial should take. It is hoped to make the memorial as representative as possible, and to that end it is expected that individual contributions will be limited.