Sign O’ the times: Residents divided on Ferntree Gully welcome sign replacement

NEWS of plans to rip down and replace the iconic ‘Welcome to Ferntree Gully’ sign has split Knox and hills residents.

NEWS of a replacement ‘Welcome to Ferntree Gully’ sign has divided Knox and hills residents.

Knox Leader last week revealed­ Knox Council has decided to install a $20,000 replica of the original sign which hung above the Burwood Highway for more almost­ 60 years.

SHOULD IT STAY OR SHOULD IT GO? SCROLL DOWN TO HAVE SAY IN THE COMMENT BOX BELOW

The “Welcome to Ferntree Gully and Blue Dandenongs” sign was originally built for the 1956 Olympic Games by hills artist John Frawley, who died in 2012.

Knox Council said the sign would be donated to Mr Frawley’s son, Mick Frawley.

But local residents are calling for the former sign to be restored and put back in its original position, or donated­ to the historical society­.

Janice Marshall, among others, took to the Mt Dandenong and District Historical Society Facebook page to voice her concerns, and said she was “hopping mad” over the decision.

“This sign was a piece of history and I do not believe for a minute it was past repairing­,” Ms Marshall wrote.

“The sign should not be returned­ to (Mick Frawley) for a private collection but displayed somewhere the public can view it.

“What about the library, or Burrinja?”

Malcolm Washfold also said he preferred if the sign had been fixed.

“Now more money to be wasted on some ugly new sign,” Mr Washfold commented.

But Mick Frawley, a sign-writer, said he wanted to let locals know the original sign was in good hands, and would be put up on display in the hills outside his barn workshop.

“People can come up here and look at it and say yes, it’s been preserved and it’s not dead, it’s still going again,” Mr Frawley said.

“If someone else just took it and threw it at the depot, eventually it would get smashed up and thrown in the bin.

“It’s had it. It’s all rotted and had it, so we’re going to bring it home.”

Mr Frawley said he expected the original sign, which he will cover in a protective coating, to be displayed at the Upwey property within a month.

He hoped people would go up to the hills to have a look at it once it was up.