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| {{Thing
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| |Type of thing=Personal
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| |Also known as=James Martin Statue
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| |Date made or found=1903
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| |Date approximate=No
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| |Place found=Gawler, South Australia
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| |Current location=Whitelaw Terrace, Gawler, South Australia
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| |Date approximate2=No
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| }}
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| ===== James Martin Memorial =====
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| '''Location:''' Originally located on the corner of Murray Street and [[Calton Road]], Gawler, South Australia. Its second and current location is Whitelaw Terrace, near the corner of Tod Street, Gawler.
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| '''Inscription:'''
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| James Martin 1821-1899
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| A public tribute to his worth
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| '''The plaque which was attached in 1998 reads:'''
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| James Martin
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| Born Stithians (Cornwall) 23rd April 1821
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| Died Gawler 27th December 1899
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| Affectionately referred to as “The Father of Gawler”
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| In 1848 established in Gawler the empire subsequently known as [[James Martin Phoenix Foundry|James Martin and Company Ltd]] which built railway locomotives, agricultural machinery and mining equipment and at one time had 700 employees.
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| Inaugural Alderman of Gawler Council 1857, and subsequently Mayor
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| 1861-62-63-68, 1877-78-87
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| Member SA House of Assembly 1865-68
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| Member SA Legislative Assembly 1885-99
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| Statue unveiled 15th August 1903 by
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| Sir Samuel Way, Chief Justrice.
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| A Man of the people, proud of the opportunities in his
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| adopted Gawler, The Athens of the South.
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| '''Date of construction:''' 1903.
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| '''Name of sculptor:''' Mr G. E. Morgan of Adelaide was contracted to engage the services of Gustave Henri Marchetti, a French painter, etcher and sculptor who executed the work in Italy.
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| '''Organisation responsible:''' The Martin Memorial Committee chaired by [[Thomson Robert K.|Mr R K Thomson]] on behalf of the community of Gawler.
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| [["The Bunyip" newspaper|The Bunyip]] of January 12, 1900 carried a public notice placed by the Mayor of Gawler, advising all interested parties (not just ratepayers) of a public meeting ‘to consider what steps shall be taken to perpetuate the memory of James Martin’. (1)
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| On January 19, 1900 The Bunyip reported that there was a ‘representative attendance’ at the public meeting to consider the appropriate way to commemorate James Martin. A number of men gave opinions on what should be done and all spoke of his influence and assistance in building the town to a position of prominence. [[Wilkinson, John Charles|Councillor Wilkinson]] said that the least that should be done was to show appreciation in some tangible way ‘that would be lasting and would speak to future generations’.(2) He proposed that the funds would have to be raised and he believed that a ‘statue or monument erected in some conspicuous place in the town would speak to all the people who entered Gawler, and would show them Gawler’s estimate and the colony’s estimate of the worth of James Martin’.(3) Other speakers all agreed with these remarks and it was proposed that a committee be formed to raise the proposed fund. The committee consisting of 28 influential men was ‘representative of the public bodies’ with which James Martin was associated.(4) [[Coombe Ephraim Henry|Mr E. H. Coombe]] was opposed to any decision being made at the time as to what form the memorial should take.(5)
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| During the next meeting, the Martin Memorial Committee accepted a further 45 members and an executive committee was elected. Authorisation was given to the Executive ‘to draft a circular for distribution to probable subscribers and to submit that draft for approval to the next meeting.(6)
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| This was duly presented and adopted at the following meeting where discussion centred around the need to determine what form the memorial would take before soliciting subscriptions. A proposal was made, and accepted, to call a special meeting to which the public would be invited and at which the form of memorial would be discussed and decided upon.(7)
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| A week later, the meeting was held and ‘there was large attendance’.(8) [[Lucas Edward|Mr E. Lucas]] once again proposed that the memorial take the form of a statue. After long discussion and a counter-proposal that the memorial should be a scholarship or scholarships, the motion was carried by ‘an overwhelmingly majority’.(9) The Executive was asked to draft a new circular and to send it with subscription lists to members of the committee for collection. Subscriptions of £50 were promised.(10)
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| Little was written in the local newspaper between February 1900 and April 1901 except for a letter written by Mr E. Lucas which was printed in The Bunyip of August 17, 1900. In this letter, Mr Lucas calls on members of the committee and friends to ‘bestir themselves on the matter of subscriptions and get their lists filled so that a meeting may be called … to decide on the final steps which may be necessary’. He attributed the tardiness to ‘the wave of patriotism which swept over the town with the despatch of troops to South Africa’.(11) The matter seemed to pass from public notice for some time after publication of this letter but events were obviously occurring behind the scenes as a small paragraph on April 19, 1901 stated that a number of designs of statues had been received and that the general committee would be convened to consider them. It mentioned that the money available at that time was around £300.(12)
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| On July 18, 1901, members of the James Martin Memorial Committee were advised that several offers for the erection of a statue had been received and these were given consideration. A suggestion was received for the statue to be placed ‘at the corner of Murray-street and Carlton-road opposite Messrs. Martin and Co.’s offices’.(13) At the next meeting on August 1, 1901, it was resolved that this would be the site for the statue (the piece of land required was transferred from James Martin and Co. to the Town Council on March 2, 1903 (14)) and members of the committee were advised that two of the several tenders received had been selected ‘for further enquiry as to the quality and the work likely to be supplied’.(15)
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| Seven months went by before the next public update appeared in The Bunyip. A short report stated that the executive had received a photograph of a clay model executed by the artist in Italy. The statue was then to be carved in marble and the contractor, Mr G. E. Morgan of Adelaide, expected that it would arrive ‘in about four months’.(16)
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| In inclement weather on 15 August 1903, the James Martin Statue was unveiled, almost four years after his death. The Chief Justice, Sir Samuel Way, delivered the eulogy and spoke of James Martin in affectionate terms, saying that ‘if he was asked to crystallise into a phrase the late Mr Martin’s career he would use the words ‘”good citizenship”’.(17) Other speakers, such as Sir John Downer, supported these remarks adding kindness, calmness, discretion and a sense of justice to the description of James Martin. The consensus of opinion was that the statue would be ‘looked upon as a reminder of a great good man … who worked not only for himself, but for all of them’,(18) The statue was officially handed over to Gawler Town Council and accepted by the Mayor on behalf of the town and its people.
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| James Martin memorialised in the statue, looked over the town of Gawler, still casting his presence amongst its citizens for the next 65 years. As the generation that knew him or knew of his influence died out so too, it seems, did the importance of the monument and his presence was felt less and less. The company which he built up ceased to trade in 1914 and, by 1932, most of the buildings of the foundry had been demolished and the railway line torn up. The tangible reminder of the existence of this important piece of history which helped define the town of Gawler was gone forever. As Gawler grew and traffic through the town became heavier, the statue came to be looked on as a hazard. There was also the question of the value of the land on which it was situated and the need to use it for commercial development. Some saw the position of the statue near public toilets as inappropriate and calls were made for its relocation. The irony is that when the statue was relocated, it was again situated near public toilets.(19)
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| The relocation of the James Martin statue was first mooted at a meeting of Gawler Town Council in July 1968.(20) Planning began almost immediately and by November 1968 the new site on parklands adjacent to Whitelaw Terrace had been determined. However, at the meeting of Council doubt was cast on the legality of moving the statue and it was proposed that a legal opinion be sought together with further consideration as to the best site for the statue. The original motion, after discussion, was eventually carried (seven to five) and, pending legal clarification, the site would be the parklands on Whitelaw Terrace, the statue facing in the direction of the remains of the old James Martin & Co. Foundry.(21) Apparently the legal obstacle was cleared as a small paragraph on the front page of The Bunyip of June 4, 1969 announced that the statue had been moved to its new site.(22)
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| For the next 28 years, the memorial seems to have been ignored by all but a dedicated few who understood the value of James Martin’s contribution to the town. In June 1998,
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| the town celebrated the 150th anniversary of the arrival of James Martin at Gawler. At this time a second plaque detailing the achievements of James Martin was attached to the base of the statue.
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| Endnotes.<br />
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| (1)‘The James Martin Memorial’, The Bunyip, January 12, 1900, p. 3.<br />
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| (2)‘The James Martin Memorial’, The Bunyip, January 19, 1900, p. 2.<br />
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| (3)Ibid.<br />
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| (4)Ibid.<br />
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| (5)Ibid.<br />
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| (6)‘The James Martin Memorial’, The Bunyip, February 2, 1900, p. 2.<br />
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| (7)Ibid.<br />
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| (8)’The James Martin Memorial’, The Bunyip, February 9, 1900, p. 2.<br />
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| (9)Ibid.<br />
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| (10)Ibid.<br />
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| (11)’The James Martin Memorial’, The Bunyip, August 17, 1900, p. 2.<br />
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| (12)’The James Martin Memorial’ The Bunyip, April 19, 1901, p. 2.<br />
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| (13)’The James Martin Memorial’, The Bunyip, July 19, 1901, p. 2.<br />
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| (14)E. H. Coombe History of Gawler 1839-1908, p. 419.<br />
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| (15)’The James Martin Memorial’, The Bunyip, August 2, 1901, p. 2.<br />
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| (16)‘The James Martin Statue’, The Bunyip, February 6, 1903<br />
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| (17)‘The James Martin Statue. The Unveiling Ceremony’, The Bunyip, August 21, 1903, p. 2.<br />
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| (18)Ibid.<br />
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| (19)Interview with Dr Bruce Eastick, Mayor of Gawler, 1968-1972, 1993-2000.<br />
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| (20)‘James Martin to be moved’, The Bunyip, August 14, 1968.<br />
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| (21)‘New site for statue’, The Bunyip, November 20, 1968, p.3.<br />
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| (22)‘Statue moved’, The Bunyip, June 4, 1969. p1.<br />
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| Researched and written by Anne Richards, 2008
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| [http://www.flickr.com/photos/gawler_history/sets/72157629515781264/ Click here] to view photos of the corner where the memorial once stood.
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| {{Info
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| |Related Articles=Martin James,
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| |FlickrID=6399049833, 6759668879, 6759682605, 6937520590, 6759683597, 6954640144
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| }}
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| {{MemoryHeader}}
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