Stephen Walker

Stephen Walker (1927–16 June 2014) was an Australian sculptor who was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1985.

Early life

Walker was born in Balwyn or Colac, Victoria in Australia in 1927. He left school at age 13 but attended Melbourne Teachers' College from 1945 to 1947 before moving to Hobart in 1948. In the 1950s he repeatedly traveled to Europe, studying sculpting under Henry Moore from 1954 to 1956 and visiting Rome, Florence and Prague through scholarships. On his return to Australia he settled in Tasmania.

Work

Walker mainly created bronze sculptures, including the Tank Stream Fountain (1981) near Circular Quay, Sydney and a memorial for Antarctic explorer Louis Bernacchi at Hobart's Victoria Dock. His statues were designed to be usable, for example by strengthening them so people could sit on them. Four of his works are included in the National Heritage Register. Much of his work was inspired by nature and by Antarctica, a continent he visited twice in the 1980s via the Australian Antarctic Division's Humanities Program.

Walker also created medals, including the Royal Society of Tasmania's Joseph Banks Memorial Lecture medal. The Museum Victoria noted his excellence in design. In 1985 Walker was awarded the Order of Australia.

Personal life and death

Walker had two children. He died in Hobart on June 16, 2014 of a lung infection.