The Robert Burns Memorial (french: Monument à Robert Burns), created by sculptor

George Anderson Lawson George Anderson Lawson (Edinburgh 1832 – 23 September 1904) was a British Victorian era sculptor who was associated with the New Sculpture movement. Life He was born at Edinburgh in 1832, the son of David Lawson and Anne Campbell. He wa ...

, is a monument located at

Dorchester Square , photo = Square Dorchester 01.jpg , photo_width = , photo_caption = , map = Canada Montreal , map_width = , type = Town square , location = Downtown Montreal, Ville-Marie Montreal, Quebec, Canada , nearest_city = , coords = , coo ...

Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal ( French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the borough of Vil ...

Overview

The memorial to the Scottish poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

, a tribute to Montréal's Scottish industrialists and financiers, represents the socially conscious and refined romantic ideal of the community during the High Victorian Era. The memorial by

stands at the western entrance of Square Dorchester. Burns looks out towards the infinite expanse of

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

, opened up by the rail and finance managed by the elites of the community. The statue was a reproduction of the one which stands in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, near Burns’ birthplace, considered to be one of the finest depictions of Scotland's national poet. The light pink sandstone plinth is beneath a standing Burns in brass, with right foot slightly forward, and the right arm almost crossed above the left across the chest. 'Erected by admirers of Burns'. The front plaque states his name and years of life. Inscribed into the plinth itself are the words, 'It's comin' yet for a' that that man to man the world o'er shall brithers be for a' that'. The base is inscribed 'Erected by admirers of Burns'. The plinth followed clockwise displays reliefs of scenes from his poems, ''Tam O'Shanter'' (1790), ''To a mountain daisy'' (1786), and ''The cotter's Friday night'' (1785). The memorial was unveiled in the city’s downtown Dominion Square on October 18, 1930, a cold and rainy day. The speeches made that day emphasised that its erection was not only in honour of Burns's genius, but also to commemorate the impact of Scots on Montreal’s development. On July 8, 2009, the official first shovelful of dirt was lifted in the $23-million project to restore Dorchester Square and

Place du Canada Place du Canada (part of Dominion Square until 1967) is a large urban square in downtown Montreal. Overview At it is slightly larger than the adjacent Dorchester Square, with a more varied topography due to a downward slope towards De la Gauc ...

at 10 a.m. near the Boer War Memorial monument. The original memorial by

was inaugurated in

, in 1892. Replicas of Lawson's memorial were also erected in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 23 January 1904,

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

in 1919,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

on 23 July 1921,

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

on 25 August 1928, and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns Memorial, Robert 1930 in Canada 1930 in Quebec Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Dorchester Square Monuments and memorials in Montreal Outdoor sculptures in Montreal

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Overview

See also

References