Queen Victoria Gardens

This guide to Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne follows the fights over its bronze memorial to the queen, from a 2025 night attack with paint and a chain to an earlier assault right after King Charles's coronation. It traces back to 1901, when Melburnians raised funds by public subscription for a monument the city lacked. The commission itself was a scandal, with sculptor James White disputing his backers and insisting the marble be carved in Italy rather than at home.