King Ed’s head refreshed

AFTER looking a little sickly on Friday, King Edward VII’s statue needed some time under the covers.

By yesterday morning, the regal replica was freshly scrubbed and ready for the working week.

Vandals targeted the monarch monument last week, spray-painting the face, hands and exposed kneecaps black in an apparent anti-colonial statement.

City of Geelong arts and culture committee chairman Jim Mason said the restoration team had done a terrific job.

“The statue of King Edward VII is a beautiful piece of Geelong’s past and we’re delighted that we could have it back on display for the public to enjoy as quickly as possible,” Cr Mason said.

The original statue was carved by Charles Summers in the 1870s. It formed part of a suite of four of English royalty commissioned by Sir William Clarke in 1877 as a gift to the people of Victoria. It later became part of the National Gallery of Victoria collection, and was gifted to the City of Geelong in 1939.

“It is carved from Italian Carrara marble, which is considered to be the finest statue quality pure white marble in the world,” Cr Mason said.

The statue underwent major restoration work in 2014, thanks to philanthropic support by veteran businessman Frank Costa which was matched by the City. That work was carried out in Italy by Australian artist Jane Valentine, using marble from the same region as the original piece.