The Pioneer Women's Memorial is located in the Western Australian Botanic Garden, within Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia. [1] It comprises a lake, sculpture and fountain and was built to honour the contributions of pioneering women to the development of the city and state. [1] [2]
In the early 1960s there were moves to establish the memorial, [2] [3] [4] with planning beginning in 1963. [5] The centrepiece, a 2.7-metre-tall (9 ft) bronze statue designed by Margaret Priest, stands on a stepping stone in an ornamental lake and is surrounded by five other stones and fountains. [1] The statue was unveiled, and the fountain in the lake was officially started, by the Governor of Western Australia on 14 January 1968. [5] The opening ceremony was hosted by the King's Park Board members and chairman, and a large group of attendees heard a speech by Geoffrey Summerhayes, the architect, which described his plan for the memorial as, "the figure of a woman apparently mounting a stream by stepping stones … stepping stones of progress". [6]
The area around the memorial was upgraded in 1999, and the Centenary of Western Australian Women's Suffrage Memorial was added nearby. [7] At that time the large waterfall was removed.[ clarification needed ]