A proposed memorial bust of naturalist Charles Darwin to commemorate the role his visit to the Cape of Good Hope played in the development of “one of the most influential theories in the history of science” could be on the cards for Simon’s Town.
The project is supported by the Geological Society of South Africa, Cape Town Heritage Foundation, Overberg Geosciences Group and the Simon’s Town Historical Society.
According to Dr Craig Smith, executive manager of the Geological Society of South Africa and project manager Prof Mike Bruton, the proposed bust will depict the 27-year-old naturalist as he looked in June 1836 in the sculptural style of the 1830s.
A fundraising campaign has begun to create the bronze bust that will be created by renowned sculptor, Johan Steyn.
Steyn tells the People’s Post that the proposal for the bust was spearheaded by Bruton.
“Professor Bruton proposed it to the Simon’s Town Historical Society to be placed in Jubilee Square.”
He added that the process to create the bust could take up to 10 weeks.
A request for permission to install a bust of Darwin at Jubilee Square was submitted at Subcouncil 19 in January, for consideration by the Department of Arts and Culture.
Subcouncil 19 chair Simon Liell-Cock says the process has reached public participation.
“There needs to be a reason why there should be a memorial bust of Charles Darwin and what connection he had to Simon’s Town, if any at all,” says Liell-Cock.
Groundbreaking
In a statement, Smith and Bruton explains the motivation behind the memorial bust. “His (Darwin’s) discussions with the astronomer/natural philosopher Sir John Herschel in the Cape were crucially important to the development of his ground-breaking theory of evolution by natural selection,” the statement read.
Charles Darwin’s 19-day visit to the Cape of Good Hope in May and June 1836 during the five-year voyage of HMS Beagle was the first opportunity he had to discuss his embryonic ideas on evolution with knowledgeable English-speaking scientists.
They add that Darwin had a thorough understanding of geology when he embarked on the five-year voyage of HMS Beagle in December 1831.
It was during this time that Darwin reportedly realized if physical environments change, plants and animals would need to change in order to be well adapted, thrive, breed, and pass their genes on to the next generation.
