Larry La Trobe, Bronze dog sculpture in City Square, Melbourne, Australia
Larry La Trobe is a cast bronze statue of a dog, about 70 cm high, at the northern end of Melbourne's City Square on the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets. The dog is a composite that does not represent any particular breed, though it has been likened to a dingo. It stands directly on the square's paving as one of only two free-standing artworks in the precinct, alongside the Burke & Wills monument.
Melbourne City Council commissioned Pamela Irving to create the sculpture in 1992; it was the first work for the city's Open Air Sculpture Museum. Anchored by 30 cm bolts, it was stolen on the night of 30/31 August 1995 and never recovered. In 1996 Peter Kolliner, former owner of the foundry that cast the original, paid for a new casting from the same mould; Irving reddened the bronze to distinguish it, and Lord Mayor Ivan Deveson unveiled it on 16 September 1996.
The sculpture merges the name of Irving's uncle Larry with La Trobe, Victoria's first Lieutenant-Governor, connecting personal family history with Melbourne's civic past. This dual naming reflects how public artworks can weave together private memories and official local identity.
The sculpture stands directly on the footpath and is easily accessible on foot, allowing photographs from many angles. Visitors passing through the Collins and Swanston Street area will find it completely free to view at any time of day.
The 1996 replacement was cast with a different surface treatment, giving the new version its own appearance. Observant visitors may notice this subtle distinction between original and replacement, making the work a kind of double sculpture with two distinct identities.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,893 contributors worldwide.