Column Garden, Sunrise

The Column Garden in Centennial Park is named after two Corinthian sandstone columns. The nine metre high columns once flanked the original front entrance of the Australian Museum, known as the Lewis Wing, on William Street. When the museum was extended and a new entrance created, the columns were dismantled and moved to Centennial Park where they were then used as the base for two statues. The statues were manufactured in 1888 by Villeroy and Boch. “Sunrise” is a standing female figure with a baby boy on a half orb. The other statue is “Sunset”, which is a female figure draped in a cloak from head to feet.