Is this a sculpture of a little boy with an iPad?

I took this picture in January 2011, just  a couple months after the sculpture was unveiled. The sculpture was unveiled in October 2010, so the iPad was in existence when this sculpture was made.

If you look closely you can tell that it is not an iPad that he is holding. The little boy is holding a writing slate.

This is one of three pieces that make up a sculpture group.

The little boy is on the right side of the sculpture group, and on the left is a little girl reading a book.

The nun, who is the central subject of this sculpture, is Mary Helen MacKillop who was also know as Saint Mary of the Cross. She helped found a religious order called the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart who were dedicated to education, especially the children of the poor.

Mary Helen MacKillp was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia in 1842. Her parents had both immigrated from Scotland and met in Australia where they married. Mary died in Sydney in 1909.

The sculpture is in Sydney on the west side of St. Mary’s Cathedral.

I really like the two children in this sculpture. They take us back to a time long ago when the education of children was much simpler. Can you imagine only having books and writing slates to learn with?

Steven