Wee Annie — Angela Hunter

💡 4 things to know

1. A holiday that never endsHunter was commissioned by Riverside Inverclyde to recall Gourock’s days as a holiday town and the setting-off point for the Clyde steamers. She told Inverclyde Council: “She is scanning the horizon, full of anticipation and excitement of exploration ahead during her holiday.” Inverclyde Council, Dec 2015 · Geograph, Raibeart MacAoidh, 10 Nov 2023 · dave souza / Wikimedia Commons, 22 Mar 2020 Checked
2. Children gave her a nameThe sculpture went up in December 2011 as “Girl on a Suitcase”. Local primary school children renamed her Annie soon after, and the artist herself later used the name. Inverclyde Council, Dec 2015 · Geograph, Thomas Nugent, 28 Dec 2011 Checked
3. She left town for a yearAnnie was taken away for about a year while the £5.2 million regeneration of Gourock town centre went ahead, and returned to her new-look home in December 2015. Inverclyde Council, Dec 2015 Checked
4. Dressed by the townA few days after the unveiling someone added a hat. Keeping her warm with a scarf and woollen hat has become a local tradition, and in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, she was given a face mask too. Geograph, Thomas Nugent, 28 Dec 2011 · dave souza / Wikimedia Commons, 22 Mar 2020 Reported

📍 Where it is

🗓️ Sightings

1. 201128 Dec

   Photographed by Thomas Nugent

2. 2015Dec

   Back after town-centre works

3. 202022 Mar

   In scarf and face mask (our photo)

4. 202310 Nov

   Photographed without the mask

5. 2024Aug

   Google Street View

Every stamp links to its source. The green stamps are dated photographs or imagery of the statue: Thomas Nugent’s Geograph photo (28 December 2011, two weeks after the unveiling), our photo with the scarf and face mask (22 March 2020), Raibeart MacAoidh’s Geograph photo without the mask (10 November 2023) and Google Street View (August 2024). The amber stamp is Inverclyde Council’s report of her return in December 2015.

📰 On the record

✅ The facts

Title

“Girl on a Suitcase”; known locally as Annie or Wee Annie. Inverclyde Council, Dec 2015 · dave souza / Wikimedia Commons, 22 Mar 2020 Checked

Artist

Angela Hunter. Inverclyde Council, Dec 2015 · dave souza / Wikimedia Commons, 22 Mar 2020 · Geograph, Raibeart MacAoidh, 10 Nov 2023 · Greenock Telegraph via RailScot, 16 May 2017 Checked

Commission

Riverside Inverclyde public art project. dave souza / Wikimedia Commons, 22 Mar 2020 · Geograph, Raibeart MacAoidh, 10 Nov 2023 Checked

Unveiled

14 December 2011. Geograph, Thomas Nugent, 28 Dec 2011 Reported

Place

North end of Kempock Street, Gourock, Inverclyde, Scotland, beside Kempock Place. dave souza / Wikimedia Commons, 22 Mar 2020 · Geograph, Raibeart MacAoidh, 10 Nov 2023 Checked

Medium

Figurative sculpture of a girl seated on a suitcase, with a bucket and spade in her right hand. Geograph, Raibeart MacAoidh, 10 Nov 2023 Checked

Away

Removed for about a year during the £5.2 million Gourock town-centre regeneration; back in December 2015. Inverclyde Council, Dec 2015 Checked

Status

Seen in Google Street View imagery dated August 2024, in her flowerbed without a mask. Google Street View, Aug 2024 Checked

Our photo

dave souza, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, taken 22 March 2020. dave souza / Wikimedia Commons, 22 Mar 2020 Checked

🔗 Related

• Someone Dressed the Statue (9 Photos): the SAU collection with Wee Annie and eight other dressed-up statues

All sources (7)

Official

• Inverclyde Council: “Annie Returns to New Look Home”, December 2015. The 2011 installation, the children’s name, the year away during the regeneration and quotes from Angela Hunter.

Press

• Greenock Telegraph: “Annie’s wee brother unveiled at Wemyss Bay station”, quoted by RailScot, 16 May 2017. Names Angela Hunter as the artist behind Wee Annie.

Photos

• Geograph: “Girl On A Suitcase”, Thomas Nugent, CC BY-SA 2.0, taken 28 December 2011. Notes the unveiling on 14 December 2011 and the hat added a few days later.
• Wikimedia Commons: “Wee Annie, Kempock Place, face mask.jpg”, dave souza, CC BY-SA 4.0, taken 22 March 2020. Our photo; the description records the Riverside Inverclyde commission and the scarf tradition.
• Geograph: “Girl on a Suitcase – ‘Wee Annie’”, Raibeart MacAoidh, CC BY-SA 2.0, taken 10 November 2023. The statue without the mask; notes the commission and the December 2011 unveiling.

Records

• Google Street View, imagery dated August 2024. The statue in its flowerbed.

Street Art Utopia

• Street Art Utopia: “Someone Dressed the Statue (9 Photos)”, 21 October 2026. The SAU post with this work.

Artwork File · Last checked 21 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files