The long-mooted project to erect a statue of local suffragette, author and feminist icon Louisa Lawson has reached its fundraising goal and on its way to being a permanent part of Mudgee's identity.
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The latest donation of $5000 by Club Mudgee fulfils the fundraising requirements as sculptor Margot Stephens is well into rendering the clay sculpture. The club's donation has ensured that money is available to complete the molding and casting process.
The roughly $110,000 project was first introduced at a Mid-Western Regional Council meeting in February last year and once the statue is placed, assuming everything goes according to plan, it will have been about two years since the project was first brought to council.
"What really impressed us is that all bar $11,000 came from the Mudgee community. The response has been fabulous," Chris Stephens from Rotary said.
Once the clay model of Lawson is complete it will be sent to a foundry to to be cast before it is shipped to Mudgee where it will forever have pride of place in Bill Cox Square on Market Street.
"It's a great feeling that the Rotary Club could do something that will last such a long time and Mudgee such a lot of good," Chris said.
"It's a big deal. And the fact that Mudgee had a sculptor [Margot Stephens], that was ready to go and is well capable of doing the job - that's a pretty, it's a pretty big task. So that was really good."
The Board of Club Mudgee recognise that having a statue of her in Bill Cox Square is a very positive tourism attraction and an inspiring role model for the people of Mudgee.
90 per cent of the money required for the statue came from the Mudgee Community and the remaining 10 per cent from the state government via Dugald Saunders.
