User:30evergreen30/sandbox

WRIT2002 - Excursion Report

Visual Rhetoric: Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Statue

Sir Peter Nicol Russell (1816 - 1905) was an important historical engineer, ironfounder as well as the benefactor for the school of engineering at The University of Sydney, now known as the ‘Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering’ opened in 1909 (The Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2015).

Russell and the first Professor of Engineering at The University of Sydney, Professor W.H. Warren met in London of 1895. This meeting eventually inspired Russell to donate £100,000 of his own money in order to build better engineering classrooms and resources at the university (The University of Sydney, 2002-2015).

Soon after his death, sculptor Bertram Mackennal created duplicate memorial statues in honour of Russell’s legacy and generosity. One located at his East Finchley Cemetery in London; the other, situated at the ground floor entrance of the institution named after him, the PNR building located at The University of Sydney (The University of Sydney, 2002-2015). The duplicate memorial statue was presented to the university by his wife, Charlotte Rusell.

The inscription below the statue reads: ‘Presented to The University of Sydney by DAME CHARLOTTE RUSSELL in memory of her late husband SIR PETER NICOL RUSSELL a magnificent benefactor who endowed the Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering’. The sculpture, made of granite and bronze, is composed of a bust statue and wreath at the highest point of the monument and well as an angel and working class man below it. The angel, represents the fact that at the time of the statue’s creation, the intended person it was meant to honour is no longer alive. In addition, the working classman alludes to Russell’s humble beginnings working with his father at the Phoenix Foundry and Engineering Works (The Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2015). Some minor detail include the hammer and anvil, representing his lifetime work with iron (The Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2015). Russell worked ironwork contracts across Australia, for private companies as well as the Australian government (The Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2015). On the anvil lies the engraving ‘B. Mackennal, 1909’; the name the sculptor.

Although Russell has lived and died over a century ago, this memorial serves as an inspiration for future students. His credibility as an engineer is honoured with this monument located at the entrance of the faculty of his expertise, engineering. To further attain respect for a person that we most likely have limited knowledge of their works, the school was named after him: ‘Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering’.

This sculpture serves as a reminder as for the engineering students at The University of Sydney of their School of Engineering benefactor, Sir Peter Nicol Russell. To further honour one of their founding fathers, the university have dedicated three engineering scholarships as well as a medal for excellent research work in Russell’s name (The University of Sydney, 2002-2015). His contribution to society and education is now forever remembered at the grounds of the engineering school at The University of Sydney.�References

Faculty of Engineering Short History. The University of Sydney, 2002-2015. http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/about/history.shtml. Accessed 1st April 2015.

Russell, Sir Peter Nicol (1816 - 1905). The Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2015. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/russell-sir-peter-nicol-4527. Accessed 1st April 2015.