not think the cast was sufficiently like Byrnes and there were a number of iterations before they were satisfied. Then there was an argument of whether Byrnes should be depicted in a university gown or in an ordinary frock coat, deciding on a frock coat in order to depict Byrnes as the premier rather than as a lawyer. Then as Simonetti was tendering to provide a 9-foot-tall bronze statue for £1,800, a local sculptor James Laurence Watts offered to provide the statue for only £1,000, dividing the committee. However, after Byrnes' sisters indicated their strong preference for Simonetti's work and Simonetti offered a revised tender of £1400, the committee went ahead and commissioned the statue from Simonetti. Early in 1900, the argument about the clothing erupted once more when Simonetti expressed an artistic preference for robes rather than a frock coat, and the committee reversed its decision in favour of robes. During this argument, Simonetti took ill and died. It was then announced in the newspaper that it had been Simonetti's wish that his former pupil, James White, should complete his unfinished commissions. The committee negotiated with White, but finally gave the commission to sculptor Bertram Mackennal. The township of Byrnestown in Queensland is named after him, as is its main street Byrnes Parade and its railway station. St Thomas's Catholic Church in Camp Hill, Brisbane (then known as East Coorparoo) built in 1923 is another memorial to Byrnes. He had owned the land on which the church was built, but it had passed to his sister Matilda Margaret Maloney after his death. In 1916 she agreed to sell the land to the Catholic Church and then, on her death in 1922, bequeathed £300 towards the cost of erecting a church in memory of her brother. References Byrnes, Thomas Joseph — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search External links Premiers of Queensland 1860 births 1898 deaths Australian federationists Members of the Queensland Legislative Council Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Burials at Toowong Cemetery People from Brisbane Australian people of Irish descent University of Melbourne alumni Attorneys-General of Queensland Deaths from pneumonia in Queensland Colony of Queensland people 19th-century Australian politicians Solicitors-General of Queensland