Iconic Abbotsford skipping girl Audrey’s historic secrets
MELBOURNE’S iconic Skipping Girl sign has lit up Abbotsford’s skyline since 1936. But there are a few things you may not know about the girl in red.
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MELBOURNE’S iconic Skipping Girl sign has lit up Abbotsford’s skyline since 1936.
Once the advertisement for the Skipping Girl brand of vinegar, ‘Little Audrey’ as she is known, is now a heritage-listed treasure.
But did you know that the current sign is not the original?
Little Audrey made her debut as Australia’s first animated sequence sign when she was erected above the Victoria St factory in 1936.
Fourteen-year-old Irene Barron was used as a model by designers.
The sign now stands as a symbol of Victoria’s industrial heritage in Richmond as one of few surviving sky-signs in the state.
The community’s response to the beloved sign’s disappearances over the years have established her social significance as a Melbourne icon.
There are now coffee mugs, tea towels, keyrings and countless other memorabilia sporting the famous image of the girl in red. She’s even been on a series of stamps and has a band named after her.
In 1968 the vinegar factory moved to Altona, so she was removed from her original home.
A public outcry meant the sign returned in 1970 on the Crusader Plate factory nearby, following a campaign by local businessman John Benjamin who owned the factory.
It was a replica, which has slightly longer hair and is a bit smaller than the original.
But that factory closed in 1986. In 1990 the site was developed and the sign was restored and ceremoniously relit.
In 2002 Audrey lost her shine, no longer illuminated because of electrical and structural problems.
In 2006 ‘Friends of Audrey’ rallies led to her listing on Victoria’s Heritage Register.
The National Trust appeals in 2008 raised money for her restoration and maintenance and in 2009 she was restored by AGL Energy Limited.
To mark her 75th birthday in 2012 AGL installed solar panels to ensure her sustainability.
Now Little Audrey skips on sunshine through the night.
Just last month the view of Little Audrey was protected by VCAT when proposed plans of an apartment building next door were restricted.
National Trust acting advocacy and conservation manager Anna Foley asserted the Skipping Girl’s importance.
“She is one of Melbourne’s landmarks and people travelling down Victoria St want to keep seeing Little Audrey skipping in the night sky,” said Ms Foley.
It has long been said that the sign was named after the girl who posed for it.
Years of campaigns, celebrations and ceremonies later, it is clear that she holds a place in Melburnians’ hearts.
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