Shirley Strickland (1925-2004), (later Shirley de la Hunty) was a famous Australian athlete, active in the late 1940s and 1950s. Her field was running. She won three gold medals in the Empire Games, and three gold in the Olympic Games.
Ms Strickland led a full life. She graduated the University of Western Australia with a Physics Degree, was involved in Australian politics, and was involved with Australian sport. She was an environmentalist, mother, and good citizen. She received several public awards: the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001, and Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1957.
This statue of Ms Strickland is located in the Burswood Park Heritage Trail, adjacent to the Burswood Casino, in Perth City. She is depicted holding a torch aloft in conjunction with another Australian athlete Herb Elliot. These dual statues are part of the "Olympians Walkway". Ms Strickland is depicted larger than life-sized, maybe 1.5x, wearing running gear, and leaping skyward. The statue is in bronze. At the base of the statues is a badly faded, near illegible, plaque.
Artists Concept: (
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'KEEPING THE FLAME ALIGHT'
COMMEMORATIVE OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY SCULPTURE
Burswood Park - Perth - Western Australia
This sculpture identifies and specifically celebrates the most important and key element in the passage of the Olympic Flame through the community. The essence of this concept is the transference of the Flame from person to person.
The drama of this unique moment is captured symbolically through the medium of two figures: one male, one female coming together in a dynamic celebration of the Olympic Spirit as expressed by the passing on of the flame.
These over-lifesize bronze figures are highly accurate portraits of Herb Elliot and Shirley Strickland. They are sculpted and cast in lost wax silicon bronze to the same exacting standards of detail and realism as our existing sculptures already in place on the Heritage Trail. We would like to emphasise that as artists, we have a particular ability to capture likenesses in bronze and thus have been abeled to guarantee a true and realistic representation of Herb Elliot and Shirley Strickland, captured for ever in the prime of their vigor.
It is important to note that the existing Heritage Trail is not a simple Historical "Walk" celebrating the far past. It should be seen as a living, growing, reflection of the best our community has to offer. The characters populating the trail are essentially 'Cultural Icons' recognised for their contributions to those processes which make a society truly civilized.
Herb Elliot and Shirley Strickland fall well within this definition, their 'Olympian' achievements going far beyond sport itself. We believe our sculpture depicts these great Olympians symbolically passing the Olympic Flame qualifies as a worthy public work of art on all levels. Visually dynamic and arresting in form it also captures and encapsulates the highest of noble ideals as expressed in the spirit of the Olympic Flame
Joan Walsh-Smith
Charles Smith
2001