page_title: Centenary Place
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Centenary Place / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Robert Burns Memorial, Brisbane
context_page_description: Centenary Place is a heritage-listed park at 85 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known by some as Centenary Park even though this is not the name it was given at the ceremonial dedication. It was designed by Henry Moore. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 August 2007.
context_section_description: Centenary Place is a teardrop-shaped park bounded by Ann, Wickham and Gotha Streets. The park falls gently from the corner of Ann and Gotha Streets and is bisected along its length by a processional path, starting with a ceremonial archway at the narrow southern end of the park. This path is the formal spine of the park, reinforced by avenues of trees with a series of monuments providing focal points along its length. At the park's centre is the statue of Thomas Joseph Byrnes, former Premier of Queensland. The statue occupies a large paved area formed by the convergence of the central path. Curved paths leading to the centre of the park from Ann and Wickham Streets are mirrored on either side of it.
  Between Byrnes and the archway, the central path passes through a shaded avenue of mature fig trees and a monument to the Scottish poet Robert Burns. At the northern or Gotha Street end of the park, the central path accommodates a 1999 sundial sculpture commemorating the 75th anniversary of Centenary Place.
  Grassed areas are delineated by formal paths, mulched garden beds, hedges and several regular lines of trees. These significant mature trees include poincianas (Delonix regia), weeping figs (Ficus benjamina), white figs (Ficus virens), Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis), Queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana) and wine palms (Butia capitata). The overall visual effect is a well developed formal tropical landscape character.
  Sandstone park signage walls have been erected on each of the Wickham and Ann Street frontages.
  At the city or southern end of the park, a formal stone podium, incorporating stone steps and the arched gateway, leads into the central path. The gateway is formed by opposing Brisbane Tuff piers surmounted by a wrought iron archway.
  The ironwork incorporates the lettering "Centenary Place" and supports for the spherical glass lanterns on each side. The podium forms the roof of what was variously a tramways cash office and lost property office, and is now an automated traffic signal control centre. Access to this basement area is provided by two steep, narrow concrete stairs bounded by Brisbane Tuff retaining walls. The stairs on the western or Wickham Street side are protected by a simple, compressed fibre cement canopy erected in 2000. The Brisbane Tuff loggia on the western side of the podium was erected as a tramway shelter in 1938.
  The bronze figure of Robert Burns stands on a tapered dressed sandstone pedestal with a rusticated granite base and thistle- patterned cornice. Three faces of the plinth feature bronze bas- reliefs. The fourth face features the statue's inscription in applied bronze letters.
  The Byrnes statue is also bronze and supported on a sandstone pedestal. When Centenary Place was constructed in 1924, the statue was moved to its present position in the park. The pedestal features an elaborate base and cornice. A carved sandstone wreath decorates the north and south faces of the pedestal. The west face features a worn inscription of Byrnes' name and dates of birth and death. Mounted on the base of the statue is a small plaque bearing a brief description of Byrnes and the statue. This plaque incorrectly credits the sculptor of the statue as being "Sir Bertram Macenell". The statue was actually sculpted by renowned artist, "Sir Bertram Mackennal" and is noted as being Mackennal's fiftieth sculpture.
  The strength of the central path as an axial feature has been diminished by the loss of its relationship with the stone remnants of the Holy Name Cathedral site. Thus the northern end of the central path lacks the strong foci provided elsewhere by the archway and the two statues.
caption: Robert Burns Memorial, 2017
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