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The Peter Nicol Russell Memorial

The Peter Nicol Russell Memorial is located near Maze Crescent, Darlington, NSW, 2008. It is situated at the University of Sydney in front of the PNR building, which was named after Peter Nicol Russell himself. The memorial is made of granite and bronze, and is a duplicate of Russell’s memorial located at St Marylebone Cemetery. The plaque on the statue is engraved with "Presented to The University of Sydney by Dame Charlotte Russell in Memory of her Late Husband Sir Peter Nicol Russell, A Munificent Benefactor, who endowed the Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering. June 23, 1907." The cast iron building column in the courtyard also has Russel’s name at the bottom. This is significant to the memorial as this was one of many building columns that were made in the P.N. Russell & Co’s foundry. In this report, the purpose and significance of the Peter Nicol Russell memorial will be analysed in relation to the context, the way in which the author delivers the text, as well as the intended audience.

Peter Nicol Russell was an Australian engineer who gifted 50,000 British pounds to the University of Sydney in 1896, to found an engineering school within the university. Later on in 1904, he contributed another 50,000 pounds towards scholarships. As Peter Nicol Russell founded the School of Engineering, it was appropriate to give rise to this munificent benefactor, for the engineering building to hold his name and to honour this historical event. This memorial and naming of the building served as a way of commemorating Russell for the contributions that have helped develop the engineering school. These forms of honouring Russell are examples of epideictic rhetoric, which are associated with important occasions rather than deliberative or forensic rhetoric. The inscription on the memorial, the statue and the cast iron building column were collectively presented to the University by Lady Russell to honour her husband as it reads “in memory of her late husband.” Lady Russell’s choice of words and format of the text is appropriate as it addresses both sides in a formal manner. It addresses the audience effectively as it speaks to whom the memorial is being presented to and also acknowledges her husband, Peter Nicol Russell. Lady Russell’s choice of the word “munificent benefactor”, shows Russell’s generosity towards the university. This is reinforced in the ethos of his character, as an engineering and foundry business owner of “P.N. Russell & Co.” His credibility further extends to his title when he was knighted in 1904. The writing incorporates both aspects of being personal in that she addresses Russell as her “late husband”, but is also impersonal as she offers further information on the plaque such as who Russell was by including the engraving of “who endowed the Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering.” The main idea behind the memorial was to depict Russell as a representation of all engineers with the sledgehammer.

From gathering field notes and photographs first hand form the Peter Nicol Russell memorial, provided me with a greater understanding of the history behind the School of Engineering that I may not have come across if it wasn’t for this field trip. The location of the memorial being in the courtyard in front of the Peter Nicol Russell building is very fitting as it allows the University of Sydney students to be reminded of the contributions that Russell made, but more importantly, reminds engineering students of the historical events of the School of Engineering. I think that having a building column that was once physically in the P.N. Russell & Co’s foundry allows audiences to feel closely connected to the context of Russell’s time and to feel privileged that Lady Russell has presented both the coloumn and the memorial to our university.