Moby Dick or Free Willy? Christmas display breaks free again as wild weather hits Adelaide
Adelaide’s Christmas whale has taken a dip in the Torrens with a little help of the severe storm that hit SA.
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Moby Dick has broken free … again.
As Adelaide continues to be hit by a wild storm, the Moby Dick sculpture part of the Riverbank Christmas lights display has been swept downstream.
It’s not the first time the whale has been swept up in flood waters, as the annual display famously broke free in flooding in 2005 and continued down the Torrens.
The plastic Moby Dick escaped from West End brewery’s traditional Christmas decoration display during the flooding of the River Torrens that year and video has captured the whale on the move again today.
About 51 years ago, Moby Dick was built by Kevin Freer – better known as ‘Nico’ – who constructed the whale out of iron and fibre glass.
His daughter, Vicki Dobre from the Adelaide Hills, estimated the beloved whale was swept about 750 metres from its display.
Ms Dobre was amused after hearing the whale had been swept up by floods again, but this time ending up near River St at Hindmarsh.
“We heard it on the radio and I said ‘Oh, that’s dad’s whale, he’s let it loose again’, so let’s go have a look,” the 59-year-old said, before mentioning that Mr Freer died 19 years ago.
Ms Dobre said they rushed to the site and first took “awesome shots of it”, before the rescue mission began.
“I thought, there’s no way it can get any further down, so we went back home (and) came back, and it’s (gone) down further down the track.
“So I’m hoping it’s not going to go any further or else it’s going to get damaged.
“I was talking to the council guy before and he said last time, they had to get the police divers here and a crane to get it out,” she said.
She recalled the first time her father – who worked at TA Cronin & Son at the time – built the infamous whale, now known as Moby Dick.
“It took him a while. He came home and said, ‘I’ve got to built a whale’,” she said.
“I was about eight or nine (years old) and I got so excited. I said, ‘Are you brining it home dad?”
“He said, ‘no, it’s going to be on display’.”
With no crane available on Tuesday, the rescue mission for the whale will continue on Wednesday.
The City of West Torrens reported has confirmed the Riverbank Christmas Display will be closed until further notice while maintenance is undertaken and the whale can be rescued.
It comes as roads and homes have been hit by flash flooding following the huge rain bomb lashing the state.
“Council crews are currently assessing any damage which has occurred, however for safety reasons the display will not be active during the evening,” the council said in a statement.
“We apologise for any inconvenience and will keep people posted.
Last time “Moby” escaped what was formerly the West End Brewery’s traditional Christmas decoration display, rival brewer Coopers took out an advertisement in The Advertiser having a cheeky crack at West End, who were trying to take over the company.
Soon after the flooding, Coopers used the images of the whale in a cheeky advert that appeared in The Advertiser, referring to the takeover bid.
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