|
The Dog on the Tuckerbox is an Australian historical monument and tourist attraction, located at Snake Gully, five miles (8 km) from Gundagai, 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.〔Butcher, C., 2002, Gundagai: A Track Winding Back' A.C. Butcher, Gundagai, pp 212-213〕 It was unveiled by the then Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons on 28 November 1932 as a tribute to pioneers. The statue was inspired by a bullock drover's poem, ''Bullocky Bill'', which celebrates the life of an allegorical drover's dog that loyally guarded the man's tuckerbox (Australian slang for ''lunch box'') until death. A dog monument had been first erected at a site nine miles from Gundagai in 1926.〔Scarff, L (1994). The Dog on the Tuckerbox: its story. Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, NSW. 0864176279〕 ''Bullocky Bill'' was written by an otherwise unknown poet who used the pen name "Bowyang Yorke" and first printed in 1857. A later poem by Jack Moses 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.〔Butcher, C., (2002) ''Gundagai: A Track Winding Back'', C. Butcher, publisher, pp 212-213.〕 Moses's poem, ''Nine Miles from Gundagai'', was first published in 1938, several years after the statue's unveiling. Jack O'Hagan's song, ''Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox (5 miles from Gundagai)'', was published in 1937. Frank Rusconi had suggested a memorial using the legend of the Dog on the Tuckerbox in 1928. However, in 1932 the proposal was taken up by the community. The ''Gundagai Independent'' of 11 August 1932 wrote: 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 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 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, the 60th anniversary of the monument.〔Butcher, page 228〕 In November 2005, the Annual Festival included a 2-day Snake Gully Cup Racing Carnival and festivities at the Dog on the Tuckerbox centre.〔(Gundagai Shire Council: Dog on The Tuckerbox Festival )〕 A food court style development opened nearby in 2006 with a KFC, Subway, McCafe, BP service station and Tuckerbox restaurant. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dog on the Tuckerbox」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|