Statue of Queen Victoria, Auckland
A statue of Queen Victoria was erected at Albert Park, Auckland, in 1899. The second monument to Queen Victoria in New Zealand, the bronze statue was funded by public donations encouraged by Auckland politicians and the New Zealand Herald in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Following applications from various British and New Zealand artists, the statue was commissioned to British portrait sculptor Francis John Williamson. It was one of nine variants of his 1887 statue erected at the Royal College of Surgeons, allegedly a favourite of the future Edward VII.
The Queen Victoria Statue in 2009
The statue covered with mourning wreaths following Victoria's death in early 1901.
Victoria's Golden Jubilee portrait served as a base for Williamson's statues of the monarch.
Albert Park is a public park in central Auckland, bounded by Wellesley Street East, Princes Street, Bowen Avenue and Kitchener Street. From the entrance at the corner of Bowen Ave and Kitchener St, sealed footpaths climb steeply through native trees to the large flat area at the summit, where a formal layout of paths and flower gardens encircle a fountain.
The band rotunda near the south end of the park
Fountain viewed from northern side
The statue of Queen Victoria
View from Princes Street