FOR more than a century he has stood in silence and watched over the centre of Warwick but how much do the generations of people who have passed by the TJ Byrnes statue in Palmerin St actually know about the man it represents?

Celebrated as a legendary Queenslander, TJ Byrnes was the first premier to die in office - just five months into the job after contracting measles and pneumonia.

The tale of Mr Byrnes, his subsequent death and the heritage-listed statue in his honour have been well documented throughout history - particularly amongst long-time locals.

For Visitor Information Centre volunteer and long-term local Fran Hockings, the statue of TJ Byrnes (or Byrnesy as he's called by locals) is a part of community.

"I like him, I think he's great - you'd miss him if he wasn't there," she said.

In his time he's worn maroon for the State of Origin, donned scarves for Jumpers and Jazz and even supported Relay for Life in purple, adding some fun to the history of a respected Queenslander.

"Many years ago you'd see a pie in his hand - people would grab a pie from the pie cart and climb up," Mrs Hockings said.

"On Boxing Day we used to have a Highland Gathering at the showgrounds and when the Scots would march up the street and people used to blindfold him."

Local historian Graham Gillam said while TJ Byrnes wasn't a local man, he became a popular political figure with the strong Irish population in Warwick.

"When he passed on it was a shock to everyone - a lot of Warwick people wanted to do something for him," he said.

"They decided they wanted to do a full-sized memorial to him."

The memorial was the subject of much debate over the years, from debate over the risk of accidents to the removal of a fence from around it.

"Over the years people have wanted to shift it because of accident concerns," Mr Gillam said.

"Apparently there was a fence around it in 1914 - they removed it because horses impaled themselves on it."

A little known piece of history related to TJ Byrnes also lies in the town hall - the Warwick vase.

"He went to visit England and took a present from Warwick to Warwick, England," Mr Gillam said.

"They sent back to Warwick a vase, which he presented it to the council at the time."