STOP EVERYTHING. AN iconic giant mango has been stolen from the Bowen information centre in north Queensland, staff have claimed.
The three-story, 10-tonne fibreglass mango went missing in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Costing $90,000, the sculpture was erected to mark the town as the mango production capital of Australia.
Not surprisingly, centre manager Paul McLaughlin was slightly taken aback at the disappearance:
As most people would be aware, this mango is three storeys high, about 10 metres high, and weighs seven to 10 tonnes, so it’s very surprising that it’s gone. No one in their right mind considered for a second that someone would take a giant … mango. It’s not like it’s something that can be easily hidden.
CCTV footage shows a mysterious crane backing up towards the giant mango with the assumed mango burglars in tow.
However, suspicion surrounds the disappearance as the police have confirmed that they weren’t formally informed of the theft and aren’t investigating. There have also been no sightings of the large tropical fruit, which is unusual, given that it’s a GIANT MANGO.
For these reasons, many on Facebook claim it’s a publicity stunt, with the Guardian digging a little deeper, to the stony core. They found that a ‘wanted’ poster for the fruit had a radio logo in the corner and a pdf media release contained the name of advertising agency that didn’t categorically deny any involvement in a marketing stunt.
Either way, any motive remains unclear.
Is nothing sacred?
