Melbourne to raise at least three new statues of women to counter gender imbalance in public art

A statue of Lady Gladys Nicholls, the only statue of an indigenous women in Melbourne according to advocacy group A Monument of One’s Own, depicted looking at a statue of her husband. Photograph: Michael Willson/AFL Photos/Getty Images

The prominent feminist organisation the Victorian Women’s Trust has called for a public nomination process to determine which female luminaries will be immortalised in bronze, as part of push to counter the gender imbalance in Melbourne’s statues.

On Tuesday night the Melbourne city council passed a motion to fast-track the erection of at least three new statues of significant Victorian women.