Observe closely. At The Road Builders Memorial, five figures stand frozen in time.
The Road Builders Memorial commemorates the convict road builders of the Blue Mountains. This sculpture stands in Lilianfels Park, near Echo Point in Katoomba. It recognizes those who built Cox’s Road. This road opened up the Central West of New South Wales. The road was completed in 1813.
The Katoomba Rotary Club donated this five-sculpture group as a Centenary Project for 2005. The statues are one and a half times life size. It took two and a half years to create. Each figure weighs about 2.8 tonnes.
Look around at the figures. Two convict laborers are present. One is carting a boulder. The other swings a mallet. A trooper stands with a rifle and a pot of tea. Two bemused Aboriginal onlookers complete the scene. The traditional owners witness the brutality. Convict laborers work to open up the continent. They create a new nation.
The Road Builders Memorial acknowledges the Darug and Gundungurra people. These people belong to this land. The memorial especially remembers the hardships of the road builders. Gangs of convicts in leg irons toiled for over 30 years. They created The Great Western Highway. It stretched from Emu Plains to Bathurst.
With primitive tools, they endured cold winters and hot summers. They broke rock and carted soil. They forged a road through the rugged Blue Mountains.
The statues have QR codes. By scanning them, you can listen to audio clips. These clips bring the statues to life. They tell stories of working on the road. They highlight the hardships of convict road builders.
Tom Colless donated the statues. He is a descendant of George Colless. George Colless was an English pickpocket sentenced to seven years in the colonies. Another statue represents Paddy Leonard. He was an Irish political prisoner. He was transported for life for uprising against British rule in Ireland. Trooper Oliver Trump is also represented. Two men from the Gundungurra and Dharug Nations represent traditional landowners.
Sandstone blocks lie here. The Road Builders laid them between 1830 and 1840. They were part of the original Bathurst Road. Their hard work and endurance live on in these stones.
The Road Builders Memorial serves as a powerful reminder. It asks us to pause and reflect on the lives of our ancestors. They helped create our great Australian spirit. Their character and spirit is their legacy to all generations.