Kingston Grand Park signs a prank, local council says

Signs seemingly revealing grand garden designs for a Southern Tasmanian town set chins wagging on the weekend. Now the truth has come out about them.

The Kingborough mayor says posters plastered around the Kingston golf course were a prank.

Pranksters who posted signs seemingly revealing grand garden designs for the Kingborough region should have waited until April Fools’ Day, the mayor says.

The signs appeared to reveal plans for a new botanical garden ‘Kingston Grand Park’, and asked those who supported it to email the council.

“They were pinned up along Beach Road, there’ a fence that runs adjacent to the golf club and they were all around at area, there were 20 in total,” Kingborough mayor Paula Wriedt said.

It turned out to be a hoax.

“We don’t know who put them up but we know they were disused film props,” Ms Wriedt said.

“I don’t know what the film or series was but they produced these professionally printed posters, they were very believable.

“We understand they were stored in a warehouse somewhere … somebody’s come across them and decided to have a joke and put them up.”

Kingborough mayor Paula Wriedt. Pic: Kingborough Council.

Ms Wriedt said the culprit had the public fooled.

“People were thinking this was a council initiative,” she said.

“It wasn’t as large an influx as we thought but we did have a few emails this morning and a couple of phone calls.

“We’re not considering a large botanical garden on the Kingston golf course … we’ve got lovely botanical gardens in Hobart, it’s not something on the radar down here.

“It’s a very grand design, it reminded me.”

Ms Wriedt said it caught council staff off guard.

“They should have waited until April Fools’ Day, I love a joke but it did create a bit of angst,” she said.

“But full marks for a good try.”

Originally published as Kingston Grand Park signs a prank, local council says