John McDouall Stuart statue

The statue erected in Victoria Square, Adelaide to honour the explorer John McDouall Stuart who travelled from Adelaide to the Indian Ocean 1861-2.

John McDouall Stuart died in England in 1866. Recognised as Australia's, and certainly South Australia's, greatest explorer, it was not until 1895 that the suggestion of a monument for him was raised. Mr MN McNamara gathered with fellow officers from the Survey Department to toast the health of the surviving members of Stuart's party. From this meeting a committee was formed and met in the offices of WP Auld, one of those survivors. The committee raised 182 pounds in one shilling subscriptions. The South Australian Royal Caledonian Society took over and raised 570 pounds. The state government contributed a further 500 pounds. The contract was let to Mr WJ Maxwell, who made the clay model, but he died before the marble arrived from Italy. The statue was then worked in Carrara marble by Mr James White of Sydney. The statue was unveiled 4 June 1904.

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