Mermaid and Fish 1936

Summary

Location: Fitzroy Gardens Pyrmont Sandstone sculpture depicting a mermaid with a split tail leaning against a large fish which is supported by waves. The figure is perched atop a Pyrmont sandstone self-base. William Leslie Bowles joined the Australian War Memorial as a sculptor and model maker in 1924. On leaving the memorial in 1931, Bowles undertook many public commissions. In 1935, three of Bowles’ designs were selected to replace the existing and much deteriorated statuary in Fitzroy Gardens. Mermaid and Fish along with Boy and Pelican were placed either side of the Clarendon Street entrance to the Fitzroy Gardens on 5 October 1936, while his Diana and the Hounds is sited at the conservatory.