This public square created in 1866 is named after the man depicted in the statue. Sir John Franklin was the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land from 1837 until 1843. His legacy was established as a Rear-Admiral in the English Royal Navy. He conducted three expeditions to chart the Arctic coastline. Part of his epitaph on the stone pedestal reads, “Not here! The white north has thy bones.” In 1845, his two vessels became icebound in the Northwest Passage. Franklin and his crew died near King William Island. The ships were finally uncovered in 2014 and 2016.
