The passionate, and at times hilarious, public campaign to save the Berkeley Prawn has come to nothing, with Wollongong City Council saying it has no choice but to tear the much-loved crustacean statue down.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 23-year-old shellfish - which was made of tiles designed by local children in 1992 - will be destroyed and replaced next month because the council says it has become a danger to the community.
An online "Save Our Prawn" campaign escalated following reports of the creature's demise, with supporters flooding the Mercury's online poll with votes to say it shouldn't be knocked down.
The outpouring on Facebook also ramped up, although there were still a few punters who couldn't understand the fuss.
Michael Platts mused "Doesn't somewhere else have a proper big prawn?".
However, most commentators revealed themselves to be prawn fans, suggesting a fence or a coat of clear protective resin would help enshrine the valuable Berkeley heritage forever.
Judy Bourke dug up a series of nostalgic '90s photos of the prawn being built, saying it was "public art work lovingly made by hand".
Scott Barnes said bluntly, "It's a bloody outrage. Leave the prawn alone."
But these heartfelt pleas failed to sway the council, with community and cultural development manager Armando Reviglio telling residents it had been repaired many times over the past 23 years.
"[The] council understands the community has lived with this sculpture for some time ... [but] the prawn is now structurally unsound and is also unsafe in its present form," he said.
Mr Reviglio said there was still a chance for residents to help create new designs for art and tiles at the new "boat seating", which will replace the prawn by mid-June.
Consultation sessions will be held at the Berkeley Neighbourhood Centre at Winnima Way, between 10.30am and 4pm on May 29, and between 9.30am and 2pm on May 30.
