Sculpture of Mercury by C. D. Richardson

Sculpture of Mercury, The Age building, Collins Street

Collins Street, Melbourne, c. 1910 State Library of Victoria Image H82.62/11

I was looking at photos of Collins Street on the State Library of Victoria website and found this one, shown above, and wondered what the sculpture was on the building on the left. The building is The Age newspaper building at 239 Collins Street. It was built in 1879, designed by Reed & Barnes, and then extensively remodelled and enlarged in 1898/1899 at a cost of £15,000. The frontage has been doubled by the acquisition of the premises formerly occupied by the Victoria Permanent Building Society (The Leader August 12, 1899). The Architects, Hyndman and Bates had to undertake the work whilst the business of producing The Age and The Leader was still being conducted. There is a very informative article in The Leader of August 12, 1899 about the new building, read it here.

The Age building in Collins Street, before the 1899 remodelling

The Age 1879 office building. Engraver: F.A. Sleap.

Illustrated Australian News February 21, 1879. State Library of Victoria Image IAN21/02/79/20

In 1931 a new 'modern' eight story building was erected adjoining this building, you can read about this in The Age, here. It is a very extensive article and tells us that the building was designed by Godfrey and Spowers, that all the material in the building was Australian made and it also has interesting information about how the newspapers are produced and distributed.

The Age building in Collins Street, showing the results of the 1899 remodelling, the Mercury statue and the 1931 addition.

The Age building, 239-241 Collins Street, south side, Melbourne, c. 1957. Photographer: Lyle Fowler. 

State Library of Victoria Image H92.20/6031

As part of the 1899 works the sculpture of Mercury was erected on the pediment. It was designed by Charles Douglas Richardson, known as Douglas Richardson. Richardson (1853 - 1932) was born in England and arrived in Victoria with his family in 1858. He was educated at Scotch College, studied at the National Gallery of Victoria's School of Design and then the Royal Academy of Arts Schools in London. He was a painter and a sculptor and in 1898 he established the Yarra Sculptors' Society with others including Margaret Baskerville, whom he married in 1914. Margaret Baskerville (1861 - 1930) is responsible for the statue of Victorian Premier, Thomas Bent, in Brighton and the Edith Cavell memorial in St Kilda Road. You can read more about Charles Douglas Richardson in the Australia Dictionary of Biography, here and Margaret Baskerville's entry, here. She's an interesting woman, I will write more about her one day. I have a photo of the Edith Cavell memorial, here.

Back to the Mercury sculpture - the Bendigo Adveriser had an informative article on the sculpture
David Syme is certainly to be congratulated on the magnificent statue of Mercury erected over the new imposing "Age" edifices. The work, from the designing of the erection, was entirely conducted in Melbourne, under the supervision of those well known architects, Messrs. Hyndman and Bates. The figure is formed of stout copper sheets, shaped by hammer and rivetted together. From the base of the globe on which it stands to the extremity of its extended arm, the height of the figure is 12ft. 9in.; the weight, in spite of its massive appearance, is but about 15cwt. A 2½in. steel rod is fastened to a steel blade stretched across the chest in the same manner, but slightly higher, than the human diaphragm. This rod passes down the interior of the left leg and extends downwards through the parapet for a distance of 8ft., thus insuring stability and safety. The sculptor and designer of this artistic creation was C. D. Richardson, Esq., Collins-street, Melbourne, who must be warmly commended on the graceful outlines and correct pose of the figure. The realisation of Mr. Richardson's model was entrusted to Messrs. Rocke and Co., Collins street, who successfully performed this onerous undertaking at their factory in Leicester-street, Carlton. The workmanship of this enterprising firm, the only one in Victoria that undertakes high-class work of this description, is equal, is not superior, to that of any European manufacture. We are indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Herbert Wood, of Messrs. Rocke and Co., for the particulars of this latest addition to Melbourne's sights. (Bendigo Advertiser, July 12 1899, see here)

The Mercury sculpture was a reproduction of the statue of Mercury by John of Bologna - Giovanni Bologna (1529 - 1608). Mr Richardson also sculpted three figures in relief in the tympanum, the inner portion of the pediment, representing Literature, Science and Art (The Leader August 12, 1899). They can be seen in this photograph, below.

The figures of Literature, Science and Art sculpted by Charles Douglas Richardson, 1899

The Age building in Collins Street.

State Library of Victoria Image H93.335/81

By 1967 the original building has been demolished and replaced with, in my opinion, an incredibly bland multi-story and the Mercury statue had been moved to the top of the 1931 building.

The Mercury statue on the 1931 The Age building, the original building has been demolished.

Office buildings, 227-247 Collins Street, Melbourne, 1968. Photographer: Wolfgang Sievers.

State Library of Victoria (SLV) Image H99.50/188.

There is also a 1967 photo by Wolfgang Siever that shows the 1931 building with the Mercury statue, see it here on the SLV website.

The State Library of Victoria has a 1970 photograph of The Age building and this time not only has Mercury disappeared but seven stories of the 1931 building have also gone! What an ignoble end to a grand building.

1970 - all that remains of  The Age building is the ground floor.

Hothlyn House, 233-241 Collins Street, Melbourne, 1970. Photographer: Wolfgang Sievers. 

State Library of Victoria Image H99.50/150

What happened to the Mercury statute?  It is now at the Museum of Victoria. The is from their website -  In 1969 it was moved to the Age building on Spencer Street first standing on a platform on the corner of Spencer and Lonsdale Streets and then on the Spencer Street verandah. The statue did not appear to best advantage in either location, and was placed in storage. In 1985 it was lent to the Museum of Victoria for the Story of Victoria exhibition, and was then donated to the Museum in 1997. Read more and see photographs of it, here on the Museums Victoria website. One of the photos is shown below.

Statue of  Mercury by Charles Douglas Richardson. 

This photo is from the Museums Victoria website, taken by John Broomfield.

https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/247862

I have created a list of newspaper articles, on Trove, on The Age building in Collins Street, Charles Douglas Richardson and the Mercury statue - you can access it here. All the articles referred to in this post are listed.