NEAR the Hotel Wellington at Canberra stands a statue of Scotland’s Bobbie Burns.

A close look at the poet’s eyes reveals that, while one of them gazes steadfastly in the direction of a nearby church, the other thoughtfully surveys the hotel.

Hotel Wellington, National Circuit, Forrest, ACT 1929.

The Burns Memorial was erected in 1935, on the corner of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit in Forrest, ACT. For many years it was a landmark used to orient visitors negotiating the unfamiliar layout of Forrest streets. The memorial was the first major project of the Canberra Highland Society and Burns Club, formed in October 1924. Three sites were proposed: near the current Academy of Science in Edinburgh Avenue, in the Parliamentary Triangle, or the Forrest site. The Club favoured the Forrest site as it was near both the Presbyterian Church of St Andrew and the rowan tree planted on 11 September 1926. The rowan tree was the site of Burns Anniversary Day ceremonies in Canberra. The memorial was unveiled on 26 January 1935.

Categories: Australian Capital Territory Hotels, cartoon

Tags: act, Bobbie Burns, Canberra Highland Society, cartoon, Hotel Wellington Forrest Canberra