{"id":260818,"date":"2026-01-31T10:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260818\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T10:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:14:16","slug":"tasmanian-nightingale-to-be-honoured-with-statue-in-hobart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260818\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasmanian Nightingale to be honoured with statue in Hobart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Carolyn<\/p>\n

January 31, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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It was Dame Nellie Melba who would become the household name, but in 1878 \u2013 years before Melba\u2019s debut \u2013 Amy Sherwin was the young Australian soprano everyone was talking about.<\/p>\n

That was the year that Sherwin, a farmer\u2019s daughter from Huonville, Tasmania, dazzled crowds at Melbourne\u2019s then Opera House in Bourke Street by singing the lead in Donizetti\u2019s Lucia di Lammermoor.<\/p>\n

\"SculptorSculptor Peter Schipperheyn with his two pieces depicting Amy Sherwin, in bronze, left, and in marble, right.Penny Stephens<\/p>\n

The Argus newspaper lauded Sherwin\u2019s voice for its \u201cpurity, sweetness and power\u201d and declared her performance a complete triumph.<\/p>\n

It kick-started a dazzling career, which saw her tour the world for decades from South Africa to Japan and the US, and perform for British and Russian royals.<\/p>\n

In later life, Sherwin fell on hard times, looking after her invalid daughter and teaching in London\u2019s East End until she died, reportedly penniless, in 1935.<\/p>\n

Today Sherwin, known as the Tasmanian Nightingale, has been largely forgotten.<\/p>\n

\"InspiringInspiring life: Dr Bob Brown holding a photo of soprano Amy Sherwin.Paul Thomas<\/p>\n

However, a campaign to return Sherwin to the spotlight is under way, driven by conservationist and former Australian Greens leader, Dr Bob Brown.<\/p>\n

Brown formed The Amy Sherwin Fund, run by a committee, and says they are on track to raise $250,000 to fund a new marble life-sized statue of the singer, which is set to be unveiled in Hobart in February.<\/p>\n

Brown first learnt of Sherwin via a plaque on a Hobart building that mentioned her, and was amazed someone who brought such joy to the world had been \u201cburied by history\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said one reason Melba\u2019s fame lasted and Sherwin\u2019s didn\u2019t may be that Sherwin\u2019s heyday came before the era of records and radio.<\/p>\n

The statue, made by sculptor Peter Schipperheyn and carved from Carrara marble, began taking shape in Italy, before being shipped to Australia and completed at his studio in Melbourne\u2019s east.<\/p>\n

The statue was originally set to be installed on a balcony of Hobart\u2019s Hadley\u2019s Orient Hotel, but the marble was deemed too heavy for the balcony and can deteriorate outdoors, so will now stand in the hotel\u2019s atrium.<\/p>\n

\"JosephJoseph and Isabelle Refalo from Master Gilders applying gold leaf to the bronze Amy Sherwin sculpture.<\/p>\n

The Orient\u2019s proprietor, Don Neil, has also commissioned Schipperheyn to make a second statue in bronze.<\/p>\n

Joseph Refalo and his daughter Isabelle, from Master Gilders, applied 23-carat gold leaf to the bronze statue\u2019s chest, face, jewellery and lacework.<\/p>\n

On February 15, both statues will be unveiled by Tasmanian Governor Barbara Baker, and soprano Jacqueline Ward will sing Home Sweet Home and Lo, Here the Gentle Lark.<\/p>\n

Also unveiled, a new dessert named after Sherwin and created by local chef Jack Lark as part of the hotel\u2019s high tea.<\/p>\n

La Trobe University historian Professor Clare Wright, co-convenor of the A Monument of One\u2019s Own campaign calling for more memorials to women, said it\u2019s wonderful to see this project come to life, and to see Sherwin\u2019s place in civic and cultural history being restored and preserved.<\/p>\n

Brown says recognising Sherwin is \u201cputting to right a great injustice\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s introducing Amy Sherwin to an Australian audience that doesn\u2019t know about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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