The story behind the ‘Simpson and his Donkey’ statue
The story behind the ‘Simpson and his Donkey’ statue This evocative statue is located in the gardens of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. The tale of Simpson and his donkey rescuing wounded soldiers from the murderous heights of Gallipoli has taken on mythical proportions in Australia. It’s become a sacred pillar of the Anzac legend. And unsurprisingly its sculpture, designed by Wallace Anderson in 1933, is laden with biblical meaning. A donkey, after all, carried Mary across the Holy Land. Simpson was a real life exemplar of the Good Samaritan parable. And like Jesus Christ, Simpson sacrificed himself so others could live. Now, the real story behind Simpson and the statue turns out to be much more interesting than the one-dimensional legend. Firstly, the knock-about Simpson’s real surname was Kirkpatrick; secondly, he was English, not Australian. And finally, rather than working with the medical corps, Kirkpatrick had adopted his own ‘roving commiss...