Sunbury Village Green is home to a new plaque commemorating land surveyor Henry Wade, with officials and community members gathering at the reserve for its unveiling last week.
Hume mayor Jarrod Bell, Sunbury MP Josh Bull, descendants of Mr Wade, Surveyor–General Victoria representatives and members of the Sunbury Family History and Heritage Society were in attendance at the event on Tuesday, December 10.
The plaque memorialises Mr Wade, who performed significant work as a land surveyor in Victoria in the 1800s, helping to establish the Victoria–South Australia border line.
He died while surveying Sunbury’s boundaries in 1854, with his final works surveying Yangardook establishing him as an important historical figure in Sunbury and surrounds.
Hume council worked with Surveyors–General Victoria to replace the plaque after a previous one at Gap Road and Napier Street in Sunbury was stolen last year.
Cr Bell said Mr Wade holds an “important place in Hume’s history”.
“The restoration of the Henry Wade Memorial Plaque in the middle of Sunbury, where all can view it, honours Henry Wade’s legacy and enables us to reflect on the significance of his work in shaping the land we call home,” Cr Bell said.
The new location at the Sunbury Village Green was chosen with co-operation from the Wade family as a more central and accessible location.
The ceremony coincided with the 150th anniversary celebration of the Institution of Surveyors Victoria.
