The immortalisation in bronze of a famous daughter of Temora is one step close with the life-sized bust of the Edwardian singer, Marie Narrelle, unveiled at the Temora Agricultural Show last Saturday, 26 September. Created by Carl Valerius and daughter Kim May from the well-known Val May Studio the bust is the first step in creating a life-sized bronze statue of the famous singer to display prominently in Temora. Born Molly Ryan, she adopted the stage name Marie Narrelle as she took concert halls in the United Kingdom and the United States of America by storm. Heading up the project is historian Bill Speirs from the Bundawarrah Centre and hopes that the council and residents come on board to honour the great soprano. Mr Spiers said that council has already given very generous support, in principle, to housing the complete statue on a council owned site. There is still a long way to go, and the bust has been privately funded to help garner interest in the full-sized project. “A life-size bronze, it's going to cost us between $130,000 and $140,000, something like that,” Mr Speirs said “And you can't just go out and ask people to embrace your vision without some tangible way of showing it. “We'll have to find the funding either through grant funding or through benefactors. “There are some very substantial businesses in Temora and are associated with the wider Temora community, which we would hope might see some benefiting coming on board.” Mr Speirs would like to see the project gain momentum as one of the artists, Carl Valerius, is 83 years old and Mr Speirs feels a certain sense of urgency as this is not a small project and he would like to see it complete while Mr Valerius is still well enough to undertake the job. Temora is well known for its sporting greats and Mr Speirs is hoping that the statue will show young people in Temora that the arts can also be embraced. “I would like to inspire the young people of the community, and I'm talking men and women, but certainly the women in the community, to realise that there's huge potential to do well in this world,” Mr Speirs added. “It's not just a bronze statue, it's a story about Temora supporting its own as she was supported by friends and family and her church and that helped her realise her potential. “It is a project which is a gift to future generations.”
