| Statue of Zelda D'Aprano | |
|---|---|
 Jennifer Mann's life-size bronze statue of Zelda D'Aprano, was unveiled outside Victorian Trades Hall on 30 May 2023 | |
| Artist | Jennifer Mann |
| Year | 2023 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Subject | Zelda D'Aprano |
| Location | Melbourne, Australia |
The Statue of Zelda D'Aprano is a bronze statue located outside the Victorian Trades Hall, Melbourne, Australia. It commemorates the life of feminist activist Zelda D'Aprano. [1]
In March 2022, the state government of Victoria announced that the Victorian Trades Hall Council, together with advocacy group A Monument of One's Own, had been successful in applying to the Victorian Women's Public Art Program for a grant to commission and erect a statue of D'Aprano. [2] The grant was the first successful campaign for A Monument of One's Own. [3] [4]
In May 2022, it was announced that artist Jennifer Mann's proposal had been accepted as the preferred design for the statue. [5] [6] The bronze work, inspired by an iconic photograph of Zelda, is titled 'Chain Reaction'. It was cast by Fundere Fine Art Foundry. [7] [8]
The statue depicts D'Aprano during her protest in 1969 when she chained herself to the doors of the Commonwealth Arbitration Commission building calling for equal pay for women. She is shown holding a metal chain, and a placard reading “No more male & female rates. One rate only.” [1] Lying on the statue's plinth is a quote by D'Aprano also in bronze: "Today it was me, tomorrow there will be two of us, and the next day there will be three and it will go on and on there won't be any stopping it." [8]
The statue was positioned on the South West lawn at Trades Hall, facing onto Lygon Street. It was unveiled on 30 May 2023 by former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard. [1] Also present at the ceremony were Minister for Women Natalie Hutchins, co-convenor of A Monument of One's Own, Clare Wright, Victorian Trades Hall Council Assistant Secretary Wilhelmina Stracke and sculptor Jennifer Mann. [7]
The Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a labour council, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It comprises 43 affiliated trade unions and professional associations, and eight regional Trades and Labour Councils of Victoria.
William Arthur Trenwith was an Australian labour movement politician and pioneer trade union official who served as the 1st leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party from 1892 to 1900. He also served as Senator for Victoria from 1904 to 1910.
Sir Thomas Brock was an English sculptor and medallist, notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His most famous work is the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London. Other commissions included the redesign of the effigy of Queen Victoria on British coinage, the massive bronze equestrian statue of Edward, the Black Prince, in City Square, Leeds and the completion of the statue of Prince Albert on the Albert Memorial.
Camperdown is a town in southwestern Victoria, Australia, 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2016 census, Camperdown had a population of 3,369.
The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum at 188 Collins Street is an art and cultural hub in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1839, it is the city's oldest cultural institution.
Jacinta Marie Allan is an Australian politician serving as the 49th and current premier of Victoria since 2023. She has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2023 and has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the district of Bendigo East since 1999. She previously served as the 29th deputy premier of Victoria from 2022 to 2023. Allan is the longest-serving female minister in Victorian state history and currently the most senior sitting member of the Assembly.
Brian Boyd is a trade unionist. He was elected secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council on 5 May 2005, succeeding Leigh Hubbard in this position, one of Australia's most powerful trade union roles. He is a longstanding member of Birds Australia, now called BirdLife Australia.
Victorian Trades Hall is the headquarters of the Victorian Trades Hall Council in Australia. It is located on the corner of Lygon and Victoria streets, just north of the Melbourne central business district in the suburb of Carlton. It is the oldest trade union building in the world.
Natalie Maree Hutchins, also known as Natalie Sykes-Hutchins, is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2010, representing the electorates of Keilor (2010–2014) and Sydenham (2014–present).
The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Committee, the Office for Women's Policy and the Women Shaping the Nation Steering Committee as part of the celebrations of Victoria's Centenary of Federation.
Stella Jane Young was an Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist.
Katherine Mary Isabel "Kath" Williams, néeChambers and formerly Clarey was an Australian trade unionist and campaigner for equal pay.
Zelda Fay D'Aprano was an Australian feminist activist living in Melbourne, Victoria. In 2023, a statue of her was unveiled outside Trades Hall in Melbourne.
The Victorian Socialists (VS) is an Australian political party based in the state of Victoria. The party's stated aims are "to put politicians on a worker's wage so they live like the rest of us" and "to get socialists into parliament who will fight to make workers richer and billionaires poorer".
Netball Victoria is the governing body for netball in Victoria, Australia. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organising and managing the elite level team, Melbourne Vixens, who compete in the Suncorp Super Netball. It is also responsible for organising and managing the Victorian Netball League as well as numerous other leagues and competitions for junior and youth teams. Its headquarters are based at the Melbourne Sports Centre – Parkville.
Luba Norma Grigorovitch is an Australian politician. She represents the Labor Party and is a former trade union official.
Maria (Marie) Elizabeth Kirk born Maria Elizabeth Sutton was a British-born Australian temperance advocate and social reformer. She was involved in women's rights including organising a "monster" petition for women's suffrage in 1891.
Helen Lothan Robertson born Helen Lothan Biggs was a Scottish-born Australian tailor and trade unionist. She was involved with creating Australia's first union for women and she led the union's first strike.
Lisa Darmanin is an Australian trade unionist and politician who has been Branch Secretary of the Australian Services Union (ASU), Victorian and Tasmanian Authorities and Services Branch since June 2018 and Chair of Vision Super since 1 July 2021. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was selected to replace Linda White as a Senator for Victoria in 2024.