On March 6, 1915 Carlo Catani was presented with a small silver replica of the Captain Cook statue that had been unveiled on the foreshore in St Kilda the previous December. The gift was presented by Mr Andrew Stenhouse who had donated the statue in recognition of the work Carlo had undertaken to improve the foreshore. The presentation was reported in The Herald. (1)
Carlo Catani honoured
The Herald March 8, 1915 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242277405
The only other newspaper report of the presentation that I could find was in the Barrier Miner of March 11, 1915 (2). This newspaper was published in Broken Hill, so it does seem an unlikely newspaper to report on such a local event, however Andrew Stenhouse had lived in Broken Hill so it was this connection that prompted the publication of the event. This is the report -
At a dinner given by Mr. Stenhouse, one of the members of the St. Kilda Foreshore Trust, to his colleagues on Saturday night, Mr. Stenhouse took the opportunity to present to Mr. C. Catani, chief engineer for Public works, a small replica of the Captain Cook statue, made in silver. The gift, it was explained, was in recognition of Mr. Catani's unselfish labors in designing and carrying through
the St. Kilda foreshore improvements.
Mr Stenhouse had also been presented with a replica of the statue at the unveiling in December 1914, the Prahran Telegraph reported that the Foreshore Committee has presented the donor, Mr. Stenhouse, with a small replica to serve to remind him of his generous gift. (3) It would be interesting to know where these two replicas are now - do they still exist in the back of a cupboard somewhere or are they proudly on display in a living room?
We will have a look now at the statue and the life of Andrew Stenhouse. The first report I could find about the statue was in 1913, when The Argus of December 18 reported that some short time since a well-known resident of St Kilda suggested to the St Kilda shore committee that St Kilda beach would be a fitting place at which to raise a memorial to Captain Cook. (4). Andrew Stenhouse offered £500 towards the purchase and the rest of the cost was later gathered from other donations. The Foreshore Committee decided that they wanted a replica of the Cook statue in Whitby, which was the work of John Tweed (1869-1933) (5). Whitby was the town where James Cook lived for nine years from the age of seventeen, and Cook's ships, the Resolution and the Endeavour were both built there (6). The Committee contacted the Premier, who contacted the Agent General for Victoria, Mr Peter McBride, in London who investigated the issue. (7)
Mr McBride visited John Tweed's studio and he sent the Committee the following letter -
I have the honour to inform you that, as a result of my inquiries, I have ascertained that the statue of Captain Cook was presented to the town of Whitby by Mr W.G. Beckett M.P., and that the work was executed by Mr John Tweed, the sculptor. After communicating with Mr Beckett and Mr Tweed, I visited the studio of the latter gentleman, at South Kensington, on Monday last and inspected the cast of the statue which was an excellent piece of work. I now have pleasure in transmitting a number of photographs of the statue at Whitby, also views of it in situ. The pedestal of the statue is decorated in the front with the coat of arms of Captain Cook and on the back with his ship the Resolution I am also sending copy of a booklet containing illustrations and an account of the unveiling ceremony, which will be of interest to you and to the members of the committee. Mr Tweed is willing to supply a replica in bronze of the statue at Whitby with models for the panels and design for the pedestal for the sum of £1,000. Mr Tweed adds that he could, if desired, provide bronze panels representing scenes descriptive of some events in Captain Cook's life at the cost of an extra £100 each. The actual cost of a new statue of Captain Cook with pedestal and panels similar in every respect to that erected at Whitby, would be £2,400. Had the request been for an entirely original statue of Captain Cook, the cost would have been considerably greater. (8) The St Kilda Foreshore Committee decided to go ahead with the sculpture but organised to have the pedestal and bronze made locally.
On Monday, December 1, 1914 the statue of Captain Cook was unveiled by the Governor, Sir Arthur Stanley, in front of an audience of 200 people including Government Ministers, members of Parliament and local councillors. Before the unveiling took place, Cr. Gibbs, the president of the foreshores committee, thanked Mr. Stenhouse for his gift, and the latter, in a brief speech of acknowledgment.... mentioned the work done in connection with the St. Kilda foreshore by Mr. H. O. Allan (secretary of the committee) and Mr. Catani. (9)
Captain Cook's statue, c. 1914
Image: John Tweed: Sculpting the Empire by Nicola Capon (Spire Books, 2013)
Carlo was recognised for his work on the St Kilda Foreshore by not only receiving the small replica of the statue, but by having the gardens named after him in October 1927. Before the area was renamed for Carlo it was known as the Captain Cook lawns. Previous to this name change it was known as the Pier Lawns. The Captain Cook statue was moved from its original location in 1988 to allow for the construction of the Rotunda. (10)
The Captain Cook statue, St Kilda foreshore.
State Library of Victoria Cyril Stainer collection of glass lantern slides, Image H2013.223/36
Carlo was clearly proud of the statue, even though it appears that not all locals showed the same respect. The Age had this report in January 1915 -
Some facetious people at St. Kilda cannot let the statue of Captain Cook, on the foreshore, alone. At Christmas time, as stated in "The Age," they tied a "straw decker" hat in a rakish manner on his head. There might have been some excuse for that freak as being conceived in the spirit of seasonable good cheer and decoration. Yesterday morning, however, the captain appeared in a "bell-topper," also tied on. The great navigator remained wearing this anachronous covering until after midday, when Mr. Catani, Chief Engineer for Public Works, and designer of the foreshore embellishment scheme, with much indignation ordered its removal, and assisted Constable Davidson to hold the ladder while the Foreshore Trust's gardener mounted upon it and untied the hat. It is a fairly good bell-topper, and is being held by the police for identification. Something may be learned from the finger prints on it, or, possibly from a water mark. Anyhow, if by any chance, the person who mounted the head gear on the statue is caught, he will be made to pay dearly for his joke, not merely on account of the violence done to the feelings of those who consider public monuments should be respected, but for the sake of the actual damage likely to be incurred by climbing the statue to fix such garniture. Mr. Catani, with impulsive generosity, has informed the police that, irrespective of what the Foreshore Trust or St. Kilda council may do, he will pay £5 reward for information leading to the conviction of the jester. As there has been talk of a lot of other statues being ultimately included in the scheme of beach adornment at St Kilda, no doubt the prospect of Shakespeare being found some morning smoking a short clay pipe with the bowl downwards, or Dante with a shade over one eye and his aim in a sling, if this sort of thing is not stopped, makes Mr. Catani keen to have the matter traced home. (11)
On August 11, 1916 a plaque was unveiled by the Mayor of St Kilda, Cr J.J. Love, which listed the names of the 96 crew of the Endeavour. This plaque, affixed to the pedestal of the statue, was also donated by Andrew Stenhouse. (12)
Captain Cook Statue, Catani Gardens.
Photographer: John T. Collins, taken January 21, 1975.
State Library of Victoria image H98.251/146
The instigator of the Captain Cook statue was Andrew Stenhouse, so from various sources (13) I have complied this biography. Andrew was born in Scotland in 1836 and trained as a shipwright / carpenter. He arrived in Melbourne in 1862, where he worked in the building industry for three years. Andrew then went to New Zealand, where he lived for 16 years and worked in building and timber industries. He returned to Melbourne around 1881 where he worked the Union Sash and Door Company until 1887 when he re-located to Broken Hill. In 1885, Thomas Stubbins had established the Willyama Timber mill in Broken Hill and it was this business that Andrew was employed with as the manager. Broken Hill developed, the mine grew and the Willyama Timber mill grew as it supplied timber products to the mine. By 1896 Andrew had taken over the ownership of the mill and the name changed to Globe Timber Mill. Around 1900 it employed 120 men and another business was opened in Port Pirie, the closest port to Broken Hill. The Globe Timber Mill was sold by Stenhouse in 1911 to Globe Timber Company, a registered public company, according to the Barrier Miner of April 1, 1920.
Andrew Stenhouse, looking every inch the Colonial gentleman.
Image from Cyclopedia of South Australia, on Find My Past
I am unsure when Andrew Stenhouse moved to St Kilda, possibly around 1907. Here's what I know about his family life. Andrew was married to Mary Matilda Shiels (nee Barrett) in 1872 in New Zealand. She had been married before, to Robert Shiels, this marriage had taken place in Tasmania in 1860. Mary and Robert had four children - George (born 1861 in Tasmania), James (born 1863 in Tasmania), Millicent Elizabeth (born 1865 in New Zealand) and Robertina Mary (born 1867 in New Zealand). I have not yet found out when Robert died. Andrew and Mary had one son together, Andrew, who was born in New Zealand in 1873. Robertina, died on April 11, 1893 at the age of 25 at Redan Street in St Kilda. Robertina had been operated on for a tumour, she had been progressing well, then had a relapse and sadly passed away. She was buried at St Kilda Cemetery. Andrew and Mary's son, Andrew Junior died February 3,1896 in Adelaide at the age of 22, and he was buried in the same grave at St Kilda Cemetery. (14)
Marriage announcement of Andrew Stenhouse and Mary Shiels, which took place in Hokitika in New Zealand.
West Coast Times March 8, 1872
Mary Stenhouse died in on August 19, 1909 at the age of 72, and her obituary said that she had arrived in Broken Hill in 1889, but had lived in St Kilda for two years. She died at their house Willyama, 7 Beaconsfield Parade, Willyama being the original name of their Broken Hill timber mill. Her obituary also said she was the mother of George Shiels of Melbourne and James Shiels of Broken Hill. She was buried in the family grave and when Andrew died at the age of 81 on August 6, 1918 he was also buried in the grave. (15)
Apart from funding the Captain Cook statue Andrew was also involved in other civic projects. In December 1913, he donated two life saving stations - one contiguous to Brookes's boat shed, and the other on the west beach near the Beaconsfield Hotel. The report notes that In both places it was customary for open sea bathing to be indulged in. Each station had cost £100, and Mr. Stenhouse had shown his generosity also in supplying seats and marble topped tables for picnickers in Shakespeare-grove. (16)
I will end this post with a family story - my grandparents, Walter and Veda Thewlis, lived in Middle Park for a time at 199 Beaconsfield Parade. This was a block of four flats, at the time called Colbinabbin. They had the flat on the ground floor, on the right. They rented there from late 1936 to late 1939. My Mum said that when she was about 4 (it was 1938 - the year her sister was born) whenever her Mum needed some peace with the new baby, her Dad used to take her for a walk to see 'Jimmy Cook' - the statute of Captain Cook on the foreshore! (17)
Postscript - On the morning of January 25, 2024 destructive vandals senselessly cut down the statue at the ankles and dumped it on the grass and graffitied the plinth. The Police are investigating and the Premier of Victoria and the City of Port Phillip have vowed to have the statue reinstalled. (18)
Cook's boots on the plinth, after it was vandalised on January 25, 2024.
Image: Isaac Hermann January 26, 2024.
Trove lists - I have created a list of newspapers articles on Trove on the Captain Cook Statue and on the life of Andrew Stenhouse and his family, you can access it, here.
Footnotes
(1) The Herald, March 8, 1915, see here.
(2) Barrier Miner, March 11, 1915, see here.
(3) Prahran Telegraph, December 12, 1914 see here.
(4) The Argus, December 18, 1913, see here.
(5) John Tweed https://victorianweb.org/sculpture/tweed/index.html Photograph and an account of his career - The Age, August 22, 1936, see here;
(7) The Argus, December 18, 1913, see here.
(8) Ibid
(9) The Leader December 12, 1914, see here.
(10) In conjunction with my colleague, Isaac Hermann, I have written about this here https://victoriancollections.net.au/stories/carlo-catani-an-engineering-star-over-victoria/st-kilda-foreshore-gardens
(11) The Age, January 18, 1915, see here.
(12) Prahran Telegraph, August 19, 1916, see here.
(13) Andew Stenhouse entry in the Cyclopedia of South Australia, published in 1907, available on Find My Past; Article in the Barrier Daily Truth, May 11 2010 about the Globe Timber Mill (as at January 2024, no longer on-line); The Argus April 2, 1914 on Andrew Stenhouse, read it here.
(14) New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/ ; Tasmanian Archives https://libraries.tas.gov.au/tasmanian-archives/ Family notices in the newspapers, see my Trove list, here.(15) Family notices in the newspapers, see my Trove list, here.
(16) The Age December 22, 1913, see here.
(17) I have written more about this here https://victoriaspast.blogspot.com/2021/08/walter-and-veda-thewlis-and-their-happy.html
(18) Melbourne Statues of Queen Victoria and Captain Cook vandalised on Australia Day eve https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-25/melbourne-captain-cook-queen-victoria-statues-vandalised/103386996
