I was driving down the Nepean Highway in Brighton (Melbourne Suburb) the other day and passed the stature of Sir Thomas Bent.
It looks for all the world like typical statues to great men produced in the late 19th/early 20th century (see pics at links), about half again lifesize and weighing upwards of 4 tons and made from beaten bronze, it was the first statue in Australian to be welded using oxy/acetylene instead of riveting.
It is actually an attractive monument, but one detail is rife with snark.
The statue shows Bent standing imperiously over the viewers, with a scroll in is right hand signifying his long and productive Parliamentary career.The sculpture commemorates Sir Thomas Bent, former Brighton Mayor and Premier of Victoria. The sculpture has significance as the first large public commission given to a woman sculptor in Victoria. This work helped the sculptor, Margaret Baskerville, preserve her name as Victoria`s first professional woman sculptor.
Sir Thomas Bent KCMG (7 December 1838 – 17 September 1909) was an Australian politician and the 22nd Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most colourful and corrupt politicians in Victorian history.
Sir Thomas Bent was responsible for many important speculative ventures both within his electorate and in the wider context of Victoria. Although not without thought for personal gain, Bent was a committed advocate of public utilities, railways, roads, tramways and gasworks.
But his left hand is lowered, palm upwards fingers slightly curled ready to receive the bribes that so typified his career.
Bent's Biography, published in the 1980's is titled appropriately: 'Bent By Name, Bent By Nature'.
Monuments Australia: Sir Thomas Bent
Tommy Bent Statue