10th Anniversary Sculpture

I chose this photo (image two) of Dame Nellie Melba’s pioneering radio broadcast from Guglielmo Marconi's New Street Works factory in Chelmsford (captured on 15th June 1920). Melba was the first international artist to sing for direct radio broadcasts. I chose this image because it captures how extraordinary she was. She demanded equal pay with her male colleagues (sometimes more), she was a single mother, she was knocked back in London but then auditioned in Paris where her talent was recognised. 

Behind Dame Nellie Melba is the Yarra Valley landscape, showing Dame Nellie Melba’s love of the Valley and the local area. On the right hand corner of her dress are her initials, just as they appear around her house at Coombe Yarra Valley.

This sculpture hangs next to the school administration building in celebration of the Melba College’s ten year anniversary.

Jane Bennetts