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The Dog on the Tuckerbox is an Australian historical monument and tourist attraction, located at Snake Gully, five miles (8 km) from Gundagai, New South Wales. It was sculpted by local stonemason Frank Rusconi and was unveiled by the then Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons on 28 November, 1932 as a tribute to pioneers.
A dog monument was first erected at a site nine miles from Gundagai in 1926.
The statue was inspired by a bullock drivers' poem, written at a campsite near Gundagai under the pen name 'Bowyang Yorke', in the 1850s and a later poem by Jack Moses, Nine Miles from Gundagai. Jack O'Hagan's song, Where the Dog Sits on the Tuckerbox (five miles from Gundagai) was written in 1937. Controversy still exists over whether the original poem referred to a site nine miles or five miles from Gundagai.
The statue was erected as part of Back to Gundagai Week and was planned to raise funds for the Gundagai District Hospital. A souvenir shop was opened nearby and a wishing well in front of the statue, with proceeds to the hospital.
In November 2005, Gundagai held an Annual Festival with a 2 day Snake Gully Cup Racing Carnival which included festivities at the Dog on the Tuckerbox centre.
A food court style development opened nearby in 2006 with a KFC, Subway, McCafe, BP service station and Tuckerbox restaurant.
External link
- Dog on the Tuckerbox tribute page including the two poems that inspired the monument
References
- Scarff, L (1994). The Dog on the Tuckerbox: it's story. Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, NSW. 0864176279
- http://gundagai.local-e.nsw.gov.au/events/pages/1034.html
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