A bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth II stands tall on the Queen’s Terrace, adjacent to the Queen’s Terrace Café at Parliament House. Commissioned for the site as part of the Parliament House Art/Craft Program and created by South Australian sculptor John Stuart Dowie AM, the sculpture was a gift from the Order of Australia Association to commemorate the opening of Parliament House in May 1988.

The statue depicts Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with her head turned to the left and her left foot forward, instead of the right (which is a more common pose for formal statues). She is wearing the King George IV diadem, diamond necklace and earrings, and a mantle over her dress which is adorned with the riband and Star of the Order of the Garter. The Order of Australia is pinned to the riband.

Dowie began this work in 1987, travelling to London and having five sittings with the Queen. In 1988 he returned to Australia with a completed plaster cast and cast the sculpture in bronze at the Meridian Foundry in Melbourne. The final work was presented by then Prime Minister Bob Hawke to the Queen herself, who unveiled the sculpture at a ceremony on the day of the opening of Parliament House on 9 May 1988.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II talking to sculptor John Dowie after the unveiling on the Queens Terrace with Prime Minister Bob Hawke, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, and the President of the Order of Australia Association Sir Charles Court behind them and a crowd looking on at the opening of Parliament House, 1988. Courtesy of the National Archives of Australia.

John Dowie
Dr. John Stuart Dowie AM (1915–2008) was an Australian painter, sculptor, and teacher. Born in Adelaide, Dowie’s artistic ability was evident at an early age. His grade 3 teacher was so impressed by his creativity, that she convinced his parents to send him to the South Australian School of Art, where he began modelling classes at age 10 in 1925. Afterwards he studied architecture at the University of Adelaide, as well as painting with Ivor Hele and Marie Tuck. He served in the Second World War and worked for six months as assistant to Official War Artist Lyndon Dadswell. During this time Dowie created many memorial sculptures for the Australian War Memorial. After the war, Dowie travelled to Europe, studying sculpture in London and Florence. Dowie’s career includes over 50 public sculpture commissions, and sculptures of many significant individuals, including Sir Hans Heysen, Sir Edmund Hillary and Dame Joan Sutherland. He was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1981 in recognition of his service to the arts.