Ho ho no! History Trust rejects Adelaide City Council’s unwanted Big Santa gift – but West Torrens Council may yet save Christmas

Adelaide City Council thinks Big Santa is too costly to keep. But another community may be willing to give him a new home in an iconic Christmas display.

Big Santa needs saving, and the search is on to find the money needed to keep the 15m-tall fibreglass icon in the heart of the CBD for Christmas festivities.

But The Advertiser understands he has already been offered a place in another iconic Christmas display.

After being displayed in Rundle Mall for years, Big Santa was handed by the Adelaide City Council to the Adelaide Central Market Authority when the building’s facade was refurbished.

Now Big Santa’s age has caught up with him, with rust and other structural issues forcing the sculpture to be put in storage.

Its future is increasingly uncertain, with speculation mounting Big Santa could be scrapped if money is not spent on his conservation.

Advertiser.com.au’s poll (below) recorded a resounding 80 per cent ‘yes’ vote for the council to pay the money needed to save Big Santa, but when The Advertiser contacted all city councillors, we got mixed responses on whether they were committed to saving him.

A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES

The estimated repair bill of $34,000 for Big Santa is a drop in the bucket for Adelaide City Council. With an annual budget of $260m, the council regularly spends similar amounts – and much more – on individual projects across the city and North Adelaide.

Recent examples include $60,000 on the reintroduction of Adelaide Flower Day, $60,000 on a pedestrian crossing for a North Adelaide childcare centre and $140,000 on an art installation outside the Adelaide Central Market. Some bigger ticket items over the past couple of years have been the $4m upgrade of Moonta St in Chinatown, $3m on new footpaths and traffic controls around Whitmore Square and $3m on a new city skate park. Then there was the $17m upgrade of Gawler Place, a project initially expected to cost $7.85m.

The biggest expense with Big Santa is the annual cost of putting it on the side of a building – and paying for the shed where it is stored. This works out around $90,000 a year.

In terms of what condition he is in, Big Santa’s fibreglass needs to be replaced, there is extensive repainting required and rust is throughout the structure. One option being examined is starting again and building a new Big Santa from scratch but would cost several hundred thousand dollars.

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Big Santa on Federal Hall at the entrance to the Adelaide Central Market.

Big Santa’s presence in the city next year is especially threatened because the History Trust has rejected an offer to take on responsibility for his upkeep.

A heavy figure weighing in around three tonnes, he was sold to ACC for $1 in 2015 by department store chain David Jones.

But the council has baulked at paying $34,000 to repair Big Santa, plus around $90,000 a year to store and install him on the wall of the Central Market’s Federal Hall.

The Advertiser understood that West Torrens Council made an official offer with ACC to be gifted Big Santa for the traditional Christmas display on the River Torrens at the former West End brewery.

West Torrens Councillor Kym McKay said after hearing of Big Santa’s uncertain future on radio, he put a question without notice to council on November 9 that led to the official request being sent to ACC.

Mr McKay said he was “more than confident that I can rally community groups” for paint and repair and “we can find somewhere to store him” for future use.

“We all know that more people already visit the Christmas display on the Torrens than visit the Pageant,” he said.

“We want to turn that into something that’s memorable.”

Big Santa on the David Jones department store in Rundle Mall.

Big Santa on the former John Martin’s building in Rundle Mall.

The structure’s future was the subject of public debate in April, when History Trust of SA chief executive and city councillor Greg Mackie asked the council to continue taking responsibility for its preservation and display.

Mr Mackie’s plea followed uncertainty about the future of another large Adelaide icon, the Giant Scotsman on Scotty’s Motel at Medindie.

Councillor Alexander Hyde successfully amended Mr Mackie’s motion, gaining the support of councillors to give Big Santa to the History Trust.

“St Nick ain’t in good nick … it’s approaching 60 years old and it needs a lot of TLC,” he told a council meeting.

“We’re not experts in taking care of heritage items, but the History Trust are.”

A staff report estimated the repairs to Big Santa would cost $34,000, while another $90,000 was needed each year to erect and store him.

A council spokesman said the council wrote to the History Trust in June about Big Santa after Mr Hyde’s amended motion was passed.

“In response to a decision of council to gift Big Santa to the History Trust of South Australia, a letter was sent to the Chair of Trustees,” he said. “The letter included condition reports and cost information to inform the acquisition decision of the History Trust.”

Big Santa on the John Martin’s store in 1989.

An earlier version of Big Santa on the John Martin's in 1964.

The spokesman said History Trust staff recently inspected Big Santa at its storage facility.

“The History Trust subsequently wrote to City of Adelaide in September, advising that the gift of Big Santa was considered by the History Trust’s Acquisitions Committee,” he said.

“However, the offer had been declined.”

The council spokesman said the Adelaide Central Market Authority and council “will now consider further options for Big Santa”.

He confirmed Big Santa would not be making a public appearance this Christmas, instead spending it in the shed where he was stored.

Mr Mackie said he would make another attempt to gain council support to look after Big Santa.

“In my capacity as an elected member I will place a new motion on notice for consideration by council at its December meeting regarding future options,” he said.

“For generations, hundreds of thousands of young South Australians and their families have loved Big Santa – an icon of our festive tradition.

“That is why former Lord Mayor Martin Haese took the initiative to rescue him from oblivion a few years back.”

Mr Mackie said if council “won’t save the old man”, he hoped a corporate partner “might be found to ensure that he returns to our festive season cityscape in the future”.

Mr Hyde said he would support any initiative to bring back Santa “so long as it is financially prudent”. “That could mean seeking a private sponsor or raising funds some other way,” he said.

He said councillors “need to remember that local governments do not have the capacity to do everything, all the time, and we must be responsible with how taxpayer money is spent”.

Originally published as Ho ho no! History Trust rejects Adelaide City Council’s unwanted Big Santa gift – but West Torrens Council may yet save Christmas