NCA head defends new Civic statue of Andrew Inglis Clark despite his racist comments

The 4.8-metre statue of Andrew Inglis Clark, a co-author of the constitution of Australia, has appeared in Civic overlooking the London Circuit and Constitution Avenue intersection.

While Clark was seen as a progressive during his time for his work in the trade union and suffrage movements, he was also known to make racist comments against Chinese immigrants.

But the National Capital Authority, who suggested Clark as a candidate to the building's developers, Capital Airport Group, has defended its choice in the name of history.

The agency's chief executive Sally Barnes told reporters on Tuesday morning the statue was appropriate despite the racist comments he made at the time.

"The Andrew Inglis [Clark] statue sits on Constitution Avenue ... he played a key role in the constitution and he's a very unknown figure to most Australians," Ms Barnes said.

"Part of what Canberra is about is unveiling the layers of history as to why we're a country now and how we came to be a country.

"Some of the things that happened along the way we probably should highlight and discuss but I think having someone who was relatively unknown [for] his role in the constitution on Constitution Avenue, it is appropriate."

Clark's thoughts on immigration from China were recorded in a number of historical documents, as analysed by academics, during the 1880s and 90s. In these documents, he would refer to the "threat" of Chinese influence on Australia's predominantly Euro-centric culture at the time.

He was also behind a Tasmanian Act, which saw the introduction of a tax on Chinese immigrants in order to restrict an "influx" of migration to the island state.

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The statue's appearance was first noted on social media on Monday after a number of punters wondered which historical figure the new statue represented.

Labor MP Anika Wells said it was yet another statue dedicated to a historical male figure while the city lacked female representation.

Professor Kim Rubenstein told The Canberra Times on Monday it was time to move beyond further statues of male figures and instead focus more on the valuable contributions of Indigenous Australians and women.

"While Andrew Inglis Clark clearly was an important figure in the move to Federation, we do also need monuments to women and Indigenous Australians to ensure we mark their valuable contributions - and have an equality of representation in our public consciousness," Professor Rubenstein said.

"We need to do this not just in the statues but also in the naming of electorates and in all public representations of our citizenry."