Sir David Attenborough asks Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre to remove fake quotes from bee mural

Tea Tree Plaza has been called out over a dodgy quote about bees attributed to the world’s most famous naturalist – and drawn a direct request from the man himself.

Sir David Attenborough has been caught in a sticky mess over a piece of public art intended to raise awareness of the plight of honeybees.

His name was falsely attributed to a quote engraved in a plaque alongside a colourful mural at Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre, which caught the eye of young environmental scientist.

The quote reads: “In the past five years, the bee population has dropped by a third. If bees were to disappear from the face of the Earth, humans would have just four years left to live.”

Heath Hunter, 33, of Enfield, contacted artist Lucy Bonnin and centre management in July, explaining the quotes were fake and asking them to remove the plaque.

At the time, Tea Tree Plaza facilities manager Charles Papp said he would “look into replacing or removing the plaque as soon as practicable”, but the plaque remained in place.

“Whilst the plaque may have misrepresentation, it is not causing any harm,” he said.

Ms Bonnin said it was an innocent mistake and she agreed to have the plaque removed, because Mr Hunter was so passionate about it: “To pardon the pun, he’s got a bit of a bee in his bonnet about it,” she said.

The mural by artist Lucy Bonnin, depicting honeybees at Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre, which scientist Heath Hunter says is beautiful but including an incorrect quote attributed to Sir David Attenborough. Picture: Nicole Reed

Part of the mural at Tea Tree Plaza. Picture: Nicole Reed

The plaque, which has now been removed. Credit: Heath Hunter

This month Mr Hunter wrote to Sir David Attenborough and included an image of the plaque.

He wrote back, asking that the plaque be removed.

“It is most kind of you to bring to my attention the notice that you describe in Adelaide’s Tea Tree Plaza,” wrote Sir David.

“You are, of course, quite correct in thinking that I have never made the statements they attribute to me and that they are false – both in substance and in attribution.”

He also sent a letter ‘To Whom it May Concern’ at Tea Tree Plaza, asking the notice be removed.

David Attenborough at Port Willunga in 2017. Picture: Tom Huntley

The letter from Sir David Attenborough to Tea Tree Plaza.

But still, there was no action. So Mr Hunter wrote to The Advertiser.

“I didn’t want to go to the media about this,” he said. “But this kind of misinformation around honeybees can have harmful consequences. I don’t know what else I can do to have the plaque removed.”

On Monday, The Advertiser contacted Mr Papp by email. When he did not respond, a follow-up phonecall soon established the plaque had been removed that morning.

University of Adelaide bee researcher Dr Katja Hogendoorn said the same quote about what would happen if bees disappeared from the face of the Earth was earlier attributed to Albert Einstein, “who never said it either, and it isn’t true”.

“Pollinators are important, and bees are important pollinators,” she said.

“But we would survive without bees pollinating crops … Staples (rice, potato, sorghum, corn, wheat and lentils) do not rely on bees for pollination. They mostly self or wind pollinate.

“Then there are fruits such as most citrus and pineapple that do not need pollination, and vegetables, such as tomato, that can be hand-pollinated, as is done in Australian greenhouses.

“In addition, apart from bees, there is a large collective of other insects that perform pollination.”