A STOLEN monument to Borders poet WH Ogilvie could soon be replaced with an exact replica thanks to the efforts of a memorial trust and the poet’s Australian fans.

The William H Ogilvie Memorial Trust, which is a charitable organisation that promotes the work of the famous poet, has been working to replace a bronze sculpture which sat alongside the Hawick to Roberton hill road ever since it was stolen in August 2016.

The sculpture, of a book inscribed with his poems and travels in Australia, was never recovered, but luckily an exact copy had been made by WH Ogilivie’s antipodean fans.

Using 3D modelling software, a copy has now been made of the Australian sculpture and is due to be unveiled just after the 150th anniversary of the poet’s birth on 16 August.

The memorial trust has now made an application to Hawick’s common good fund, to fund the siting of the sculpture at a new site near the top of Harden Glen.

An application from the trust’s chairperson Ian Landles reads: “The original Will H Ogilvie Memorial Committee, set up in 1993, worked extremely hard and with the generosity of the Border public eventually raised sufficient funds to commission one of Scotland’s finest sculptors, Hawick’s William Landles to create a marvellously evocative memorial which was unveiled on ‘The Hill Road to Roberton’ 26 years ago.

“The memorial featured a cairn, built from reclaimed stone from the recently demolished Hawick auction mart, surmounted by an open book in bronze which reflected both Will’s Australian and Border periods.

“Sadly the bronze was stolen in August, 2016 and has never been recovered.

“Fortunately the efforts of the committee back in the 1990s had come to the ears of Ogilvie enthusiasts in Australia and, not to be outdone, they commissioned Bill Landles to produce an exact copy of our cairn for Bourke in New South Wales.

“By the wonders of modern technology laser images have been taken of the Australian cairn, which has enabled Beltane Studios in Peebles to create an exact replica of the stolen bronze and this is the memorial we hope to unveil on a new site near the top of Harden Glen on August 17th .

“The cost of this replacement bronze is £5,400 and paying for it has taken all the money the Trust had accumulated for our 150th anniversary projects.

“As a result we are unable to pay for the building of the replacement cairn.”

The William H Ogilvie Memorial Trust is asking for £2,000 from the town’s common good fund, which is due to meet on Tuesday, May 28 to discuss the application.

The replacing of the memorial cairn near Roberton will not be the only event taking place in the Borders to mark the 150th anniversary of Ogilvie’s birth, as the the Ex-Kelso Laddies Club is also planning a tribute.

The organisation is planning on marking the 150th of his birth by erecting a memorial stone at Holefield, near Kelso, where he was born.

Mr Landles commented: “There are several events taking place in and around Kelso. On Friday 19 July a new memorial stone at Holefield, the poet’s birthplace will be unveiled by the Kelso Laddie.

“On the return from the next day’s Yetholm rideout, the main ride of Kelso Civic Week, the Laddie will unveil the new Will H Ogilvie Way street sign and at the end of the ride an Ogilvie poem will be recited in the square, the plan being to henceforward make this innovation a feature of the annual event.

“The highlight of the year will be the anniversary weekend. Friday 16 August will see the opening of a Will H Ogilvie exhibition at the Heritage Hub in Hawick and the launch of the reprinted “Whaup o’ The Rede”.

“This will be followed by a special performance of Well Road Production’s ‘Will’ in the Heart of Hawick theatre.

“On Saturday, August 17 there will be a gathering to witness the unveiling of the new memorial cairn at the top of Harden Glen near Hawick where the oration will be given by renowned orator, ex-Langholm Cornet Billy Young.

“On Sunday, August 18 there will be a church Service in Ashkirk Kirk.”

As a young man, Ogilvie travelled to Australia, working on sheep farms and rising to prominence as a bush poet – someone who depicts the life, scenery and character of the outback – before eventually settling near Ashkirk in the Scottish Borders.

There he carried on his literary work and wrote The Land We Love, a love letter to the Borders, and Ettrick, which was set to music and is still sung during the Selkirk common riding.