Statue silence

THE statue of Edwin Flack in High Street, Berwick, his home town, was sculpted to honour his many achievements. Now his old school, Melbourne Grammar, has also honoured their former student by unveiling a statue of him at the school’s sports facility. Both recognise not only Flack’s sporting achievements, but also his philanthropic contributions that continue to this day.
The City of Casey councillors fail to understand that when a statue of a man is made, that statue honours the achievements of that particular man and it must be placed where it is relevant to that man. Any attempt to link the statue to some other ideal, concept or another statue would be to dishonour the man and lessen the achievements of that man; in this case Edwin Flack.
Casey Council will soon force upon the community a statue of Spiridon Louis that has no relevance to the township of Berwick; however, this statue will forever stand as a symbol of this council’s failure to listen to the community. This council has arrogantly disregarded the wishes of many hundreds of petitioners. They have not responded to numerous letters from the community and have given no feasible reason for their actions. All it would take to please the vast majority would be for council to reverse its decision and once again resolve to place the statue of Spiridon Louis in the Edwin Flack Reserve along with all the other Olympic memorabilia. It would also be appropriate to unveil the Spiridon Louis statue with the completion of the new running track planned for the reserve.
Ruth Crofts,
Berwick.