William Cargill Memorial
Lockdown loop #19
My early morning excursion today went past William Cargill’s memorial. Designed by Charles Swyer in Gothic Revival style, it was made of Tasmanian sandstone. It was constructed in Melbourne then deconstructed for its trip to Dunedin. It was originally intended to be multi functional - a viewing platform in the centre of a garden in the Octagon, a gas lamp and a drinking fountain. Put up in Dunedin’s Octagon in 1864, it was moved to the Exchange in 1872. Opinions were divided on it from the start, with complaints that it ‘was a monument of ill taste and unacceptably frivolous’ and ‘the gargoyles bore a striking resemblance to surviving members of the Cargill family’. Find the fascinating story by Rodney Hamel of this memorial in the ODT article link below.
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