About 100 people gathered at the Sir Robert Menzies Spire in Jeparit on Friday to mark the 60th anniversary of its unveiling and the official relighting of the thistle.

Steve Black, representing the Menzies Symposium, welcomed those present and introduced local historian Craige Proctor, who summarised the spire’s history from the concept’s inception to the realisation of the vision.

An original recording of the speech Sir Robert Menzies gave in the same spot sixty years ago was played, as he reflected on growing up in Jeparit and the people he still knew from the town.

After sunset, the thistle at the top of the spire was lit for the first time in some years, utilizing a new modern LED system which gives it a purple glow.

The spire, an eighteen-metre-high grey steel structure topped by a purple Scotch thistle that dominates the entrance to the Jeparit showgrounds that also bears Menzies’ name. The structure symbolises Menzies’ rise from a boy born in a small town in country Victoria to Australia’s Prime Minister and a statesman respected worldwide. The Scotch thistle was a reference to him being recently (in 1966) knighted into the Order of the Thistle.

It was unveiled on 18 September 1966, witnessed by a large crowd which included Sir Robert Menzies and twenty-two members of his family.

Three years earlier, the local A & P Society suggested that an area within the town be dedicated to Menzies, who was then still Australia’s Prime Minister. Three sites were proposed, including the Caravan Park then being developed, Broadway, and the Showgrounds. The latter was the preferred choice, and Menzies approved naming the park after himself.

A competition was launched, and the sixty entries received included the original proposal of an arch, along with gates, pillars, domes, and the ultimate choice of a spire.

It took two years to choose the winning design, as the committee had to cost the entries.

The winning design, by engineer Mr M. Earle, was announced in 1965.

The community raised much of the £1,500 cost of the monument, with the Dimboola Shire Council contributing £500, the Jeparit A & P Society (£100), APEX (£25), and Mr Earle even donated his £5 prize for winning the competition.

Construction began in 1966, with McNeil’s of Horsham fabricating the spire’s metal shaft. The fibreglass-covered brass thistle took longer to make and caused some delays, and the base of the structure and the surrounds are made of Besser bricks and concrete.

Construction delays pushed the official unveiling from January to April, then to June, by which time Menzies had resigned from Parliament and was on an overseas trip.

Eventually, it was completed by September, and Menzies was back in the country, and the formalities took place on 18 September 1966.


The crowd of around one hundred people posing in front of the Sir Robert Menzies Spire in Jeparit.