Centennial Park
Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Centennial Park. Originally home to the Gadigal people, the area was known from 1816 onward as the 'Lachlan Swamp'. Nearly all (a small section remains) was converted into 220 hectares of urban park in 1888.
Beautiful place.
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This particular item is one of only three known statues of author Charles Dickens (he didn't want any at all - hoping to be known only for his writing) - thought to be by sculptor Job Hanson, placed in the park in 1891.
Vandalised (his head was destroyed), it was restored (from photographs and paintings) in 2011.
NB : The statue was formerly sited at the junction of Parkes and Hamilton Drives, and was relocated in 1897 to its current location near the junction of Loch Avenue and Dickens Drive - to make way for a statue of Henry Parkes.
