The Casey Council has been presented with a petition signed by almost 950 locals opposing the erection of a statue of Louis Spiridon, Greek Olympian and winner of the first modern Olympic marathon in 1986.
The statue, being funded by both the State Government and the Australian Hellenic Society, is to be placed alongside that of fellow marathon runner and Berwick local Edwin Flack, on Berwick’s High Street.
The two athletes competed against one another in the 1896 Athens Games, with Flack leading the race to then be overtaken by Louis who went on to win the marathon.
According to Mayor Amanda Stapledon, the statue of Louis is being erected in commemoration of the close friendship between the two gold medallists.
The project has been approved by the local council, along with the support of the local RSL and other community members.
However, many Berwick locals are unsatisfied with the reasoning of the Casey Council, suggesting that the statue would be better suited in one of Melbourne’s Greek communities or the MCG.
“Spiridon Louis has no link to Berwick,” Berwick local Annette Aldersea told The Herald Sun. “Flack was buried in the cemetery here; his farmhouse is open to the public; he was a philanthropist. Louis never set foot in Australia. Unfortunately the council’s wrong.”
Another fellow Berwick local and author of Edwin Flack: Lion of Athens, Peter Sweeney is also dubious of the Flack and Louis connection, stating “I couldn’t even find that they’d met, let alone been close mates.”
Despite the council’s decision to go ahead with the plans for the statue, the Berwick community is committed to fighting the decision. Locals have been warned in advance by Councillor Stapledon that action will be taken against anyone found to be vandalising the statue.