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Maitland Brown Memorial

Maitland Brown Memorial, also known as Explorers' Monument, is a monument in Esplanade Park, Fremantle, Western Australia. Unveiled on 8 February 1913, it features a head-and-shoulders statue of Maitland Brown on granite pedestals and a granite base inset with five plaques. One plaque depicts three explorers: Frederick Panter, James Harding, and William Goldwyer. The statue of Brown was sculpted by Pietro Porcelli, and the monument was commissioned by George Julius Brockman, who is also depicted on one of the plaques. An additional plaque was added on 9 April 1994 in response to the monument’s biased original presentation.

Maitland Brown Memorial stone monument with plaques, a canopy on columns, and a bronze bust on top.
The Maitland Brown Memorial in Fremantle, featuring a bronze bust atop a stone canopy structure.
© · Public domain
Maitland Brown Memorial stone monument topped with a bust and relief panels on a grassy site
The Maitland Brown Memorial, showing its bust-topped stone structure with relief panels and inscription.
© Malcolm Uren · Public domain
Maitland Brown Memorial stone monument with a bust and relief figures, with a Ferris wheel in the background.
The Maitland Brown Memorial stands on a grassy field with a Ferris wheel visible in the distance.
January 2021 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Weathered bronze bust of Maitland Brown in a suit and tie on a stone pedestal against a blue sky.
Maitland Brown Memorial bust, shown in weathered bronze on its stone pedestal.
August 2007 © · Public domain
Bronze relief plaque on the Maitland Brown Memorial showing busts of W. H. Goldwyer, F. K. Panter, and J. R. Harding.
Detail of the Maitland Brown Memorial plaque showing the busts of W. H. Goldwyer, F. K. Panter, and J. R. Harding.
September 2007 © · Public domain

Identification

TitleMaitland Brown Memorial
TypeMemorial monument
Alternative namesExplorers' Monument; Monumento de los Exploradores; Entdeckerdenkmal; Maitland-Brown-Denkmal

Historical context

Commemorated personMaitland Brown (1843–1905)
Subject's rolesExplorer, politician, and cattleman in colonial Western Australia
Associated eventThe La Grange expedition and the deaths of Panter, Harding, and Goldwyer in 1864
Related placeKimberley region, Western Australia

Creator

SculptorPietro Porcelli

Discovery and provenance

Place of deaths commemoratedBoole Boola near Le Grange Bay
Burial locationEast Perth Cemetery
Commissioned byGeorge Julius Brockman
Date of deaths commemorated13 November 1864
Erected asA tribute from a fellow bushwalker

Physical characteristics

HeightAbout 6 metres
Main figureHead-and-shoulders bust of Maitland Brown
BaseGranite pedestal and base with inset plaques
PlaquesFive plaques, including plaques commemorating Frederick Panter, James Harding, William Goldwyer, and George Julius Brockman

Materials

Material described in 1913 reportMarble
MaterialGranite

Location and ownership

Specific settingNear one of the entrances to Fremantle Esplanade Park, overlooking the water
LocationEsplanade Park, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia

History and restoration

Additional plaque added1994
Added plaque purposeTo redress the original biased interpretation
Added plaque commemorationAll Aboriginal people who died during the invasion of their country
Modification date1990
Unveiled in presence ofThe Mayor and councillors of Fremantle and a large number of notable citizens
Unveiled bySir John Forrest
Unveiling date8 February 1913

Iconography and meaning

Depicted figureMaitland Brown seated on a granite pedestal
Additional commemorated figuresFrederick Panter, James Harding, William Goldwyer, and George Julius Brockman
Original interpretationOriginally presented colonists as 'intrepid pioneers' and Aboriginal people as 'treacherous natives'

Significance

ControversyControversial monument criticized as a racist work with a biased interpretation of the La Grange events
Contested historical accountBrown described the reprisal as a battle after an Aboriginal ambush, while later accounts often describe it as a punitive massacre by white settlers
Original plaque textDescribed the group as the 'punitive party' and said 'that we may not forget'
Later plaque criticismA later plaque said the monument presented the events only from the perspective of white settlers and omitted Aboriginal rights to defend their land and the provocations leading to the explorers' deaths
Later plaque wording'Lest we forget, Mapa Jarriya-Nyalaku'