The preferred design for a commemorative statue of Mary Poppins to mark the centenary since the character’s “birth” in Bowral NSW was announced on Monday 9 August. Michael Ball, the chairman of the independent assessment panel established by the Southern Highlands Youth Arts Council Inc to make a recommendation on the preferred design from 11 submissions, announced the preferred design was option
#1 in the final shortlist of three by Newcastle-based sculptor Tanya Bartlett (biographical background below)
The announcement was timed to coincide today with the 111th anniversary of the birth of Mary Poppins’ creator, PL Travers, who was born in Maryborough Queensland in 1899. She left Maryborough at the age of three to live in another Queensland town, Allora, but later moved to Bowral in 1907 following the death of her father. The family lived in Bowral for another decade and research has revealed the genesis of the Mary Poppins character took place during those years. According to Travers’ biographer Valerie Lawson (Mary Poppins She Wrote), in the later Mary Poppins books many key characters from the stories were also taken direct from Bowral without so much as even a name change. Michael Ball congratulated Tanya Bartlett and said the blind selection process adopted by the panel, especially in the public polling, had all pointed to her design as having the special magic the panel was hoping to find.
“We had many good submissions and the final shortlist of three all attracted supporters but Tanya Bartlett’s design as the preferred nomination was a unanimous decision by the panel and received overwhelming international support on the page that has been set-up for the campaign.”
“I congratulate Tanya on her selection and note that she was also the sculptor of the statue of Sir Donald Bradman here in the courtyard of the Museum. She will get the opportunity now to reunite in bronze these two famous Bowral identities almost 100 years after they lived a block from each other in Holly Street” he said. Former local MP Peta Seaton was deputy chair of the panel and grew up in the south Pacific with the Mary Poppins books being some of her favourite childhood reading. Seaton said “the Bartlett maquette is more edgy, whimsical, slightly menacing, magical, and generally an intelligent response to the brief”. In the commission the artists were asked to base their design on a 1966 sketch concept for a statue in New York’s Central Park that was supported by PL Travers herself but the project never went ahead much to the author’s disappointment. The artist who did that sketch – PL Travers herself may have posed for him - was the late Sean Crampton, a former President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. His daughter Harriet Crampton has endorsed the Bartlett maquette enthusiastically on behalf of the family stating they believe it is closest to what her father would have done if he had been able to complete the 1966 proposal. Lucy Bucknall was a former apprentice to Sean Crampton who now works as a professional sculptor in New Zealand. She was another member of the assessment panel who endorsed the choice.
“The maquette shows a great amount of artistic flair. It successfully portrays the whimsical aspect of the subject without it being too contrived or 'over worked'. “
“Knowing Sean Crampton and his love for mystical stories and legend, I feel that he too would choose this concept. Although it is not a direct portrayal of his drawing, I feel that it does have the all important aspect of 'life' and 'movement' that is essential in good quality sculpture . The maquette does remind me of Sean's lively sculptural style, and I can 'see' clearly some aspects of his sculpture within it.” Bucknall said. Another member of the panel thrilled with the choice was Melissa McShane, whose original idea to commemorate the author and her character in Bowral was sparked as a 12-year year old in 2004 as a contestant in a youth civic design competition.
“There is a Mary Poppins story where a statue comes to life and interacts with Mary Poppins and the Banks family children. You get that same feeling of potential magic with this design, that it could suddenly come to life and the wind take her up into the sky” Melissa said
Club Bowral has announced it will be a foundation sponsor of the statue, providing funding to help produce the first in a series of limited edition bronze maquettes. President of Club Bowral Gordon Lewis said the association of PL Travers and Mary Poppins with Bowral was deserving of commemoration and the club was pleased to be partners right at the outset of the project. Chair of SHYAC’s Mary Poppins Committee Terry Oakes-Ash congratulated the panel on its excellent work and thanked them for the recommendation, assuring them that SHYAC and the business community were keen to see Bowral and the Southern Highlands benefit from the tourism potential of this connection with the creator of one of the world’s most famous fictional characters.
“The recent opening of the Disney – Cameron Mackintosh Mary Poppins stage show in Melbourne to rave reviews suggests that it will almost certainly see the same record-breaking box office success here in Australia as it has worldwide.”
“When the show comes to NSW next year, we want Bowral to be ready with a beautiful statue of Mary Poppins to welcome her back home after 100 years” he said. Additional notes: Tanya Bartlett left Australia around the age of 24 to travel overseas and eventually find her calling (see biographical notes) just as PL Travers did at the same age back in the 1920s. Tanya has completed sculptures of many Australian icons including Sir Donald Bradman “The Final Salute” (2002), Les Darcy (2000), RM Williams (2000), Smoky Dawson (2010), horse-trainer TJ Smith (2006) racehorse Octagonal (2004) and the Tamworth Waler – a memorial to the Australian Light Horse Brigade (2005). Mary Poppins will be another “Australian” icon on that list. Ed Note: High res image of the Bartlett maquette is available www.shyac.org.au
For more historical background www.mary-poppins-birthplace.net
