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The Peter Pan Statue in Bowering Park, St. John's has been a favourite of visiting children since it was commissioned in 1925. The statue features a pipe-playing Peter, Tinkerbell and a collection of fairies and animals that are described by sculptor Sir George Frampton as "listening to the Pipes of Pan, one of the mice is completing his toilet before going up to listen to the music, and the squirrel is discussing political matters with two of the fairies."
The Bowering Park Peter Pan, as you may know, is a duplicate of a Frampton statue in London's Kensington Gardens commissioned by Peter Pan's author J.M. Barrie. The Bowring Park Pan is not one of two statues but one of seven in cities around the globe:.
View Frampton Peter Pan Statues in a larger map
About the statues:
1. Kensington Gardens, London. This was the original Peter Pan statue. Barrie had it installed under the cover of darkness so that it seemed to appear in the park as if by magic. (photo)
2. Bowring Park, St. John's, NL -- Commissioned in 1925. The Peter Pan is Bowring Park is dedicated to In memory of a little girl who loved the Park -- Betty Munn who drowned on the SS Florizel at Cappahayden. This year the Bowring Park Pan turns 85 and he remains as popular as ever -- which is pretty appropriate for the boy who refused to grow old.
3. Sefton Park, Liverpool- Unveiled in 1928, the statue (photo) came with a telegram from author J.M. Barrie reading 'Behave to-day, if for the only time.
Take care the Lord Mayor does not find you out.
For heaven's sake don't grow when they remove your swathing sheet."
4. Egmont Park, Brussels - Presented to the country in 1924 by sculptor Frampton after World War One. The translated inscription reads "A bond of friendship between the children of Great Britain and the children of Belgium". (photo) .
5. Camden, New Jersey - Located outside the Walt Whitman Arts Center, the statue was a gift to the children of the area and. The statue and dedicated in 1926 at a Peter Pan Pageant featuring over 3,000 schoolchildren performing scenes from Peter Pan . (photos)
6. Glenn Gould Park, Toronto - Erected in 1929 by the College Heights Association, this Pan is dedicated To the Spirit of Children at Play (photo)
7. Queen's Gardens, Perth, Western Australia - Erected in 1927, this Pan remains a popular feature of the park. (photo)
This proliferation of Pans has even led to the creation of a world-wide geocaching challenge. To play, geocaching enthusiasts must find 7 foreign friends who can work together together to solve the seven caches across three continents. Follow the link for more details.
Image: Crop of photo by bmpower, public domain
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