Project: The Australia Gate

Client: The Royal Parks

The Australia Gate is one of the Dominion Gates that form a vast memorial scheme in front of Buckingham Palace, commemorating the death of Queen Victoria. This ceremonial gate, designed by Sir Aston Webb, was presented by Australia to the United Kingdom as a tribute to Queen Victoria. The Memorial was formally unveiled by King George V in 1911. The gates, piers, balustrades and retaining walls of the Memorial Gardens are all protected landmarks.

Barwin have cleaned and maintained this iconic gate for a number of years using Stonehealth’s DOFF system, this is based on a 5 year term contract with The Royal Parks. The gates are situated in a very busy public area and many precautions must be made. The works are usually carried out from a cherry picker, early in the morning to avoid busy periods before the rush hour, with the traffic management in place. Paths closures and road restrictions have to be put in place, as public safety is of the up-most importance.