Statue of Queen Victoria

1905

Sculptor: Alfred Drury (1856–1944)

Commissioned to commemorate Queen Victoria

Bronze, on Aberdeen granite pedestal, with bronze reliefs

Wellington, New Zealand

This statue was commissioned in 1901 and unveiled on Empire Day in 1905. The relief on the front of the plinth shows the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which gave Britain sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840. The treaty guaranteed the Maori the rights of British subjects and continued possession of their lands. However, pressure from land-hungry settlers as well as perceived challenges to Crown sovereignty resulted in a series of armed conflicts known as the New Zealand Wars (1845-48; 1860-72). Maori land was confiscated by the colonial government as a consequence. The monument celebrates the ideals behind the Treaty and makes no hint at its subsequent dishonor.

The statue is a copy of Alfred Drury’s design for a monument to Queen Victoria in Portsmouth, England, unveiled in 1903. Further copies of this work were sent to other cities. The statue for Wellington was delayed because the bronze foundry, Singer & Co., was overwhelmed by demands for monuments in the wake of the queen’s death.

Related Media

Alfred Drury and assistants in his London studio with the model of his Queen Victoria statue Alfred Drury (far right) and assistants in his studio at 4 Gunter Grove, Chelsea, London, with the model of his Queen Victoria statue for Portsmouth, c.1903. [Photograph by Ritchie & Co., London. Courtesy of Jolyon Drury]

"Unveiling of the statue of Queen Victoria at the head of Queens Wharf, Post Office Square, Wellington": unveiling by William Lee Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket, Governor of New Zealand, on April 22, 1905. "Unveiling of the statue of Queen Victoria at the head of Queens Wharf, Post Office Square, Wellington": unveiling by William Lee Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket, Governor of New Zealand, on April 22, 1905. [Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, ref. 1/2-007908-G; http://natlib.govt.nz]