Park Poetry: Venus on North Terrace

by Deb Stewart

This poem, by Deb Stewart, reimagines the Venus of Canova (Adelaide’s first public statue) as it was erected on North Terrace in 1892, outside the gates of Government House.

Many sketches and early photographs of the city show roads made of dirt, hence the reference to an “uncultured terrace of dirt and dust”. The poem imagines Venus stepping through a portal in time from a European setting of culture and classical beauty to a developing city of Adelaide, at that stage not yet 60 years old.

The Venus of Canova was later moved a few metres westwards to its present location in the Prince Henry Gardens in Park 12, still outside the North Terrace wall of Government House.

Venus on North Terrace


I step through an invisible door

leaving behind my glorious bath in 1892

where the water was luxuriously warm

and lapped at my smooth skin

lulling me almost to sleep

but a ripple in time and place

startled me, did I imagine the city knock?

I remember the sounds of horse and cart,

of voices echoing in otherwise silence,

falling beneath susurrations of rustling leaves

I take up my thin cloth, bunch it before me

step from the water and peer through

a portal to the uncultured terrace of dirt and dust.

Deb Stewart.

Pic: State Library of South Australia: PRG 631/2/462

There are two copies of “Venus of Canova” in your Adelaide Park Lands; in Prince Henry Gardens (left); and in the Botanic Garden (right). Pics: Shane Sody, Adelaide Park Lands Association

Deb Stewart - In Her Own Words

My relationship with words and nature began as a young child, growing up in England. For a couple of years, we lived in a little town called Cholsey, surrounded by fields and farmland. I remember mist and rain and open fields, the smell of hay and distant sounds of horses and cows. I smelled the lawn and flowers, stared up at the blue sky and watched the butterflies, birds and bees. The sun warmed my skin and the birds’ songs were a joy to listen to. I still enjoy these simple pleasures and often write about the natural world in my poems. In retirement now, I am living in Milang on the shores of Lake Alexandrina, and like to walk along the foreshore where there are pelicans, gulls and gently lapping wavelets.

Nature restores my calm and revives me. Connecting with nature often provides inspiration for my creative work. Even if my current project is based on subjects other than the natural world, being in these wild and natural spaces stimulates creative thinking and encourages me to find satisfactory solutions to any writing issues I am experiencing. I think this is extremely important for everyone – to be able to access the quiet, green spaces that surround our beautiful city of Adelaide. To be able to tune out the busyness and business of everyday life for a little while and ground ourselves in nature.

I worked at a city law firm for several years and felt very grateful to be able to sit in the sunshine on a park bench in one of our city squares for a while to recharge my energy for the afternoon demands of work. We are so lucky to live in a city surrounded by lush park lands where we can work and rest, and picnic and play!


Image credits: State Library of South Australia: PRG 631/2/462; and Experience Adelaide

These links provide more information about the Venus of Canova: