There is an interesting statue overlooking the corner of Adderley and Wale Streets and – if you don’t know it’s there – it is easy to miss.

This statue is wrongly assumed – by many of those who know of its existence – to to be Britannia, a relic from the Cape’s days as a British colony. It is in fact a piece from a later period, a symbol of the humanity of the Board of Executors.

It was commissioned by the architect George Murray Alexander in 1894 and was supposed to illustrate a shepherdess, holding in her right hand the crook – her left hand resting on the anchor – while approaching her a cupid is submitting a book (or volume) containing facts on which information or guidance is required; and another cupid (of client) who has one hand on the Scales of Justice and in the other a wreath. All very whimsical!

This whimsical statue didn’t sit well with the townsfolk and neither did its cost of 94 Pounds. Which, in those days, was a substantial sum of money!

For these reasons the statue – a large, draped female – came to be known as The Widow Twankey who is a famous pantomime (play) dame. The Widow Twankey is – in the world of pantomimes – always a figure of fun as was the statue in the eyes of the townsfolk.

George Murray Alexander – the architect – was wholly blamed for this disgrace and to this day the sculptor and model remain anonymous.