Dog on the Tuckerbox
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n historical monument and tourist attraction, located at Snake Gully, five miles (8 km) from Gundagai
Gundagai, New South Wales
Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The dog section of the monument was cast in bronze by 'Oliver's Foundry' Sydney and its base sculpted by Gundagai stonemason Frank Rusconi
Frank Rusconi
Frank Rusconi was a quarry owner and monumental mason of Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia.He was born at Araluen near Braidwood, New South Wales, the son of a Swiss goldminer and monumental mason. After his mother's death, the family returned to Switzerland while Frank was a child...
, and was unveiled by the then Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
on 28 November 1932
1932 in Australia
See also:1931 in Australia,other events of 1932,1933 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George V*Governor-General – Sir Isaac Isaacs*Prime Minister – James Scullin , then Joseph Lyons...
as a tribute to pioneers. The statue was inspired by a bullock driver's poem, Bullocky Bill, which celebrates the life of a mythical driver's dog that loyally guarded the man's tuckerbox (Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
for lunch box
Lunch box
The lunch box, also referred to as a lunch pail or lunch kit, is used to store food to be taken to work or school. The concept of a food container has existed for a long time, but it wasn't until people began using tobacco tins to haul meals in the early 20th century, followed by the use of...
) until death.
A dog monument had been first erected at a site nine miles from Gundagai in 1926
1926 in Australia
See also:1925 in Australia,other events of 1926,1927 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George V...
.
Bullocky Bill was written by an otherwise unknown poet who used the pen name 'Bowyang Yorke' and first printed in 1857
1857 in Australia
See also:1856 in Australia,other events of 1857,1858 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.- Governors:Governors of the Australian colonies:*Governor of New South Wales - Sir William Denison...
. A later poem by Jack Moses
Jack Moses
Jack Moses was an Australian outback bush poet who wrote the poems "Bullocky Bill" and "The Dog Sat on the Tuckerbox" and many other famous verses from which the well-known Dog on the Tuckerbox monument and the Nine and Five Mile legend of Gundagai were inspired...
drew on the Bowyang Yorke poem for inspiration and was published in the 1920s. The latter poem was very popular and was the inspiration for the statue. Moses's poem, Nine Miles from Gundagai was first published in 1938
1938 in Australia
See also:1937 in Australia,other events of 1938,1939 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie*Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons-State Premiers:...
, several years after the statue's unveiling. Jack O'Hagan
Jack O'Hagan
John Francis O'Hagan was an Australian musician.O'Hagan was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. He was the son of Pat O'Hagan, a hotelkeeper and Alice née Quinlan. He went to school at St Patrick's College and then later at Xavier College in Melbourne...
's song, Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox (5 miles from Gundagai) was published in 1937
1937 in Australia
See also:1936 in Australia,other events of 1937,1938 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie*Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons-State Premiers:...
.
Frank Rusconi had suggested a memorial using the legend of the Dog on the Tuckerbox in 1928. This legendary dog is seen in the shape of the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai and known as Mirriyolla by local Aboriginal people.However, in 1932 the proposal was taken up by the community. The Gundagai Independent of 11 August 1932 wrote:
"A Monument should be erected at the Nine Mile peg dedicated to the pioneers and bullockies, who made the highway of today possible. And there should be an unveiling ceremony during 'Back to Gundagai Week'."
The Dog on the Tuckerbox monument was erected as part of 'Back to Gundagai' Week in 1932 and a large crowd "gathered to her again" to witness the unveiling by the Prime Minister. It was planned to donate money placed in the wishing well at the base of the monument to the Gundagai District Hospital. A souvenir shop was also opened nearby.
The Back to Gundagai Committee had chosen the Five Mile camping site rather than the Nine Mile Peg as a location for the monument on the basis that it was more convenient to the Hume Highway
Hume Highway
The Hume Highway/Hume Freeway is one of Australia's major inter-city highways, running for 880 km between Sydney and Melbourne. It is part of the Auslink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to transport goods to and from the two cities as well as serving Albury-Wodonga and...
and closer to the town, thereby more beneficial to tourism.
A nationwide competition was held to obtain the most suitable inscription for the monument. The chosen inscription on the base of the monument was written by Brian Fitzpatrick
Brian Fitzpatrick (Australian author)
Brian Charles Fitzpatrick was an author, historian, journalist and one of the founders of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties....
of Sydney. The inscription says:
- Earth's self upholds this monument
- To conquerors who won her,
- When wooing was dangerous
- And now are gathered unto her again."
An annual Dog on the Tuckerbox festival has been held each year since 1992
1992 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II*Governor-General – Bill Hayden*Prime Minister – Paul Keating-Premiers and Chief Ministers:*Premier of New South Wales – Nick Greiner , then John Fahey*Premier of Queensland – Wayne Goss...
, the 60th anniversary of the monument. In November 2005
2005 in Australia
See also:2004 in Australia,other events of 2005,2006 in Australia-Incumbents:*Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II*Governor-General – Michael Jeffery*Prime Minister – John Howard-Premiers and Chief Ministers:...
, the Annual Festival included a 2 day Snake Gully Cup Racing Carnival and festivities at the Dog on the Tuckerbox centre.
A food court style development opened nearby in 2006
2006 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II*Governor-General – Michael Jeffery*Prime Minister – John Howard-Premiers and Chief Ministers:*Premier of New South Wales – Morris Iemma*Premier of South Australia – Mike Rann*Premier of Queensland – Peter Beattie...
with a KFC, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, McCafe
McCafé
McCafé is a coffee-house-style food and drink chain, owned by McDonald's. Created and launched in Melbourne, Australia in 1993 by McDonald's Licensee Ann Brown, the chain reflects a consumer trend towards espresso coffees....
, BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
service station and Tuckerbox restaurant.
External links
- Nine Miles from Gundagai poem by Jack Moses
- Dog on the Tuckerbox tribute page including the two poems that inspired the monument