The Sir Joseph Banks Memorial Sculpture

Following a suggestion from Mrs Ann Moyal, author of two books on the history of science in Australia, the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Society of London agreed to support jointly a memorial to Sir Joseph Banks to mark his contribution to the development of science in Australia and to celebrate the continuing links between Australia and the United Kingdom in the plant sciences.

The memorial took the form of a bust of Banks located at the Australian National Botanic Gardens and a plaque fixed to the Banks building at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Australian National Botanic Gardens provided a superb setting for the bust which is surrounded with some of the plants associated with Banks. It is located adjacient to the Visitor Information Centre at the Gardens.

The sculpting of the bust was undertaken by Mrs Ninon Geier, a Canberra sculptor, who was assisted in her researches by Mrs Moyal.

The sculpture was unveiled at a ceremony at the ANBG on 25 April 1988