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The memorial as it exists today takes the form of a small gabled structure. At the front, within the gable, is the bust of Admiral Phillip, with below it the main inscription on a stone panel. On either side of the structure, facing east and west are reliefs. Some parts of the memorial previously belonged to a large bronze wall monument in the style of late eighteenth century church memorials that had been on the front of the church of St. Mildred in Bread Street. A reduced version of the memorial was re-erected on the east wall of Gateway House in Cannon Street, where it was unveiled by the Australian High Commissioner on the 8th May 1968. In 1999, Gateway House was demolished, and the new office building, 25 Cannon Street, has since taken its place.
Title
Admiral Arthur Phillip (1738–1814)
Date
1932–2000
Medium
bronze, bronzed resin & stone
Measurements
H 89 x W (?) x D (?) cm;
Plinth: H 260 x W (?) x D (?) cm
Accession number
EC4M_AY_S032
Work type
Bust
Owner
City of London Corporation
Custodian
City of London Corporation
Work status
extant
Access
at all times
Inscription description
on the main stone panel at the front of the monument: IN HONOUR OF / ADMIRAL ARTHUR PHILLIP R.N / CITIZEN OF LONDON / FOUNDER AND FIRST GOVERNOR OF AUSTRALIA / BORN IN THE WARD OF BREAD STREET 11TH OCTOBER 1738 / ENTERED THE ROYAL NAVY IN 1755 AND DIED 31ST AUGUST 1814 / TO HIS INDOMITABLE COURAGE, PROPHETIC VISION, FORBEARANCE / FAITH, INSPIRATION AND WISDOM, WAS DUE THE SUCCESS OF THE / FIRST SETTLEMENT IN AUSTRALIA AT SYDNEY ON SATURDAY / 26TH JANUARY 1788 / THIS MEMORIAL ORIGINALLY ERECTED AT ST.MILDRED'S CHURCH / BREAD STREET AND UNVEILED BY HIS LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS / PRINCE GEORGE.KG.GCVO.RN. ON 7TH DECEMBER 1932 / WAS PRESENTED BY THE LATE CHARLES CHEERS / BARON WAKEFIELD OF HYTHE.CBE.LLD / ALDERMAN OF THE WARD OF BREAD STREET / LORD MAYOR OF LONDON 1915/16 - TO THE CITIZENS OF LONDON / AND THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA AS AN ENDURING LINK BETWEEN / THE MOTHERLAND AND THE GREAT ISLAND CONTINENT OF AUSTRALIA THE CHURCH WAS DESTROYED BY ENEMY ACTION IN 1941 BUT THE / BRONZE BUST AND PLATES WERE SALVAGED FROM THE RUINS/ THIS RE-ERECTED MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED ON MAY 8TH 1968 BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE HONOURABLE SIR ALEXANDER DOWNER.KBE. / HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR AUSTRALIA AND RE-DEDICATED BY THE / RIGHT REVEREND FRANCIS EVERED LUNT BISHOP OF STEPNEY. ALDERMAN OF BREAD STREET WARD / H.MURRAY FOX.MA/ COMMON CONCILMEN / S.R.WALKER.CBE.DEPUTY / R.M.SIMON.MA.LLB / G.D.TRENTHAM, F.N.STEINER.MA.LLB / C.McAULEY C.S.P.RAWSON / WARD CLERK / S.D. PLUMMER.DFC; on bronze plate below relief on east side: THE FOUNDING OF AUSTRALIA AT SYDNEY / ON SATURDAY, 26TH JANUARY 1788. / FIGURES IN ROWING BOAT LEAVING H.M.S. SUPPLY / ARE CAPT.ARTHUR PHILLIP, R.N., LIEUT. P. GIDLEY KING, R.N., / AND LIEUT. GEORGE JOHNSTON, MARINES A.D.C.; on bronze plate below the relief on the west side: THE DISCOVERY AND FIXING THE SITE OF SYDNEY / ON WEDNESDAY, 23RD JANUARY 1788 / READING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: - / SURG. J.WHITE, R.N., CAPT.ARTHUR PHILLIP, R.N., FOUNDER. / LIEUT. GEORGE JOHNSTON, MARINES. A.D.C., CAPT. JOHN / HUNTER, R.N., AND CAPT. DAVID COLLINS, MARINES.