Former prime minister Scott Morrison has joked about losing weight since being immortalised in bronze.
The former leader’s bust was revealed in Ballarat yesterday, the 30th prime minister in Prime Ministers Avenue.
The tradition was established in 1940, when the country’s first six prime ministers were unveiled in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.
Prime Ministers Avenue in the Ballarat Botanic Gardens is a feature of national significance. (Supplied: City of Ballarat)
Sculptor Martin Moore said he felt honoured to have his work join the historic collection.
“To see my piece sit among so many fine works … is incredible,” Mr Moore said.
Mr Moore met the former prime minister twice for photos and measurements to create the realistic bust, one of which was Mr Morrison’s last day in parliament.
“What I wanted to capture was Scott Morrison’s expression and character, something of that instantly recognisable grin,” he said.
Mr Moore joked that he was “quite disappointed” the former prime minister was “looking quite trim now”.
Scott Morrison says it is an honour to be represented in Prime Ministers Avenue. (ABC News: Coco Veldkamp)
Scott Morrison said that the job of prime minister can be “crushing” and “it can make you look like that, rather than looking like this now”.
“But I think it is right to capture these images at the time. That’s what it was like then,” Mr Morrison said.
“I’ve shed a few pounds since back then, had a bit more time to have a bit more exercise, but that’s the demands of the job.
“There is life after politics, and a bit of a healthier life, too.”
Artist Martin Moore said he was grateful to have been chosen to create the bust.
Mr Morrison became prime minister in 2018 and served for just under four years.
Reflecting on his time in office, he spoke of the honour of the position and the shared commitment to the country between those who have held it.
“[The former prime ministers] were not always popular, they were not always loved, often they were loved and unloved over the course of their administration. I have some sense of that, as pretty much everyone whose bust sits behind me does,” Mr Morrison said.
“I say thank you to all of those who stand behind me right now for their sacrifice, for their wisdom, for the lessons they taught me on both sides of the aisle, for the way that they advanced Australia.”