The bust for Australia’s 29th Prime Minister, the Honourable Malcolm Turnbull MP, has been commissioned using funding from the City of Ballarat’s Public Arts program.
Artist Linda Klarfeld held a sitting in January with Mr Turnbull at his office in Sydney to create a maquett – a miniature clay bust which will serve as a preliminary model for the sculpture.
Linda will now begin the major process of creating the bronze bust.
Linda created the bust for former Prime Minister Tony Abbott which is now exhibited in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens’ famed Prime Ministers Avenue.
A date is yet to be set for the unveiling of the bronze bust. The City of Ballarat is working with Mr Turnbull’s office to secure his availability for the installation of the bust into the gardens.
Mr Turnbull’s bronze bust will become the latest addition to the renowned Prime Ministers Avenue. Located in the beautiful and historic Ballarat Gardens, the Prime Ministers Avenue is a feature of national significance, displaying bronze portrait busts of each of the previous 28 Prime Ministers of Australia.
The Avenue was officially opened by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Winston Dugan on 2 March 1940 who unveiled the busts of the first six Prime Ministers of Australia.
The first 12 busts in the Prime Ministers Avenue were a gift to the people of Ballarat from prominent local benefactor and Member of Parliament, Richard Armstrong Crouch, who left a further bequest to ensure the continuation of the Avenue after his death. The City of Ballarat now takes responsibility for these commissions.
The Public Arts Program is a cornerstone of the City of Ballarat’s Creative City Strategy. Ballarat is home to more than 100 pieces of public art placed throughout our city and surrounds, including the central Sturt Street Gardens, the North Gardens Indigenous Sculpture Park to the Prime Ministers’ Busts.
