When locals in the town of Mudgee noticed that all its statues were of men, they decided to honour its most well-known advocate for women's rights, Louisa Lawson.
The central-west New South Wales community formed a group during 2020 and raised nearly $130,000 to create a statue that celebrated Ms Lawson's life.
"She was a woman of real influence and one that can inspire a community in such a visible way," project campaigner Bernadette Eichner said.
Ms Lawson, the mother of writer and bush poet Henry Lawson, was born in Gulgong, north of Mudgee in 1848.
She was instrumental in getting the law changed in 1902 to allow NSW women the right to vote, and was dubbed the state's mother of suffrage by parliament.
Ms Lawson was also an advocate for women who were victims of domestic violence, a campaigner for women's refuges, and helped to liberalise divorce laws.
Her 2-metre-tall statue was today unveiled outside Mudgee Library for International Women's Day.
"We have found a way to bring Louisa home to Mudgee," Ms Eichner said.
Female statues few and far between
The statue of Louisa Lawson was created by Mudgee sculptor Margot Stephens as the town's first female statue.
Only an estimated 3 per cent of statues in Australia depict women.
"You're more likely to see a statue of an animal in Australia than you are of a woman," La Trobe University historian Professor Clare Wright said.
"It's depressing.
"Most of the statues in Australia were the product of 19th-century colonialism."
Professor Wright said there had been an implicit bias against the idea that women did things important enough to have them immortalised in the form of a statue.
"In a city the size of Melbourne, there are 580 statues and just nine are of real women," she said.
"We've seen a lot of discussion in recent years about the treatment of women in politics and the treatment of women who are the victims of domestic violence.
"When you start to put women up on pedestals, people may not necessarily know who she is, but it will subliminally make people realise it's of a woman who deserves to be immortalised in bronze."
Leading the way
Chris Stephens from the Rotary Club of Mudgee was heavily involved in fundraising for the Louisa Lawson statue.
He said they received strong support from the local council, which supported the project early on.
"We have a woman, in Louisa, who has been ignored and is worth of celebrating," Mr Stephens said.
"Maybe other communities will look at what we've done and do something similar."
Ms Eichner said there had been many women in regional Australia who could be recognised.
"The contribution of women has not been acknowledged and it has been undervalued," she said.
"Louisa Lawson is someone who achieved so much in her lifetime and she deserves to be recognised for what she did for women."
