Mr. Stringy
Encyclopedia
Mr. Stringy, also known as The Wooden Man or just The Man, is a folk art
project and tourist attraction on the Great Alpine Road
in East Gippsland
, Victoria
, Australia
. Mr. Stringy is a sculpture
in a human form, originally carved from a stringybark
stump, which is regularly repainted into different topical characters by anonymous community members.
alongside the Tambo River
in East Gippsland, at an elevation of 203 m (666 ft). The nearest habitation is the small farming community of Tambo Crossing
, some 8 km (5 mi) south of the sculpture, with the nearest population centres being the small towns of Ensay
12 km (7.5 mi) north, and Bruthen
39 km (24.2 mi) south.
Mr. Stringy is carved into a human form from a single piece of timber log, and consists of an over-large head and torso without legs, somewhat in the nature of the moai
of Easter Island. Originally the wood used was probably stringybark
, from which its name was derived, and was most likely to have been an actual tree stump
in this location. However it is now a transplanted log and is thought to be a more solid and durable type of eucalyptus
, such as the yellow box
or grey box
, rather than stringybark.
Mr. Stringy stands 1.67 m (5.5 ft) tall above ground, with approximately a further 0.5 m (1.6 ft) below ground. It has a diameter of 0.4 m (1.3 ft) and a circumference of 1.325 m (4.3 ft). The carved head, neck, and shoulders take up half of the height above ground, with the remainder being the undifferentiated torso. The face area has been flattened from the natural curve of the log, and has carved eye sockets and the remains of a nose, which has possibly been lost at some time by weathering or through vandalism.
teams were the main traffic along the Great Alpine Road (formerly the Omeo Highway
), originally being carved in location from a stringybark tree. The original sculptor was thought to be either a man known as 'Jimmy the liar' from the East Gippsland locality of Murrindal, north of Buchan
, or a W. H. Henham; either way, the sculptor was possibly a member of a bridge building gang working along the road at the time.
The original Mr. Stringy was stolen at least once after the advent of the chainsaw
, and maybe more than once, following which it was replaced with a new version. The current version has a large steel spike up its centre in order to try to prevent further theft, and is thought to be a more solid type of box eucalypt making it harder to damage and heavier to move. It is not certain when the community first began painting Mr. Stringy into the various designs currently observed, although it may have originally been done to preserve the timber, with most of the early painting being done in basic black and white.
or community art project for the Tambo Valley and Omeo District
. Despite not being officially recognised, appropriate redecoration of Mr. Stringy is condoned and encouraged by both the community and local authorities.
The characters Mr. Stringy is painted as fall into various categories. The characters are often of a topical nature, such as a player from the Omeo & District Football League
premiership football or netball team for that year, a cyclist
when the Great Victorian Bike Ride travelled along the Great Alpine Road, and Cadel Evans
following his win in the 2011 Tour de France
. The sculpture is also painted as generic characters, for example a blushing bride
, or a skier
around the start of the ski season. Alternatively it may be painted as a figure from popular culture
, such as Homer Simpson
or Wonder Woman
.
Mr. Stringy is sometimes just given a mild makeover, such as by by modifying an existing painted character by adding a piece of clothing or simple decoration like balloons, ribbons, or streamers. This is often to celebrate an occasion such as Christmas or a sporting victory. At other times it is poorly painted or mildly vandalised, for example by having a tin of black paint poured over it; this may quite quickly prompt community members to do a proper repaint into a new character.
The unlikely existence of Mr. Stringy in a remote roadside location, and the regularly changing characters, makes it a popular figure with current and former locals of the district, and a tourist attraction
for visitors to the area.
, although the sculpture's popularity makes genuine vandalism rare. As noted above, the original Mr. Stringy was stolen at least once, and the current version has been modified in order to try to prevent further theft or damage.
Despite the increased security measures, Mr. Stringy was stolen again in October 2010, having been winch
ed out of the ground by unknown thieves. The Victoria Police
officer based in Omeo
harshly described the theft of this "icon of the area" as "the work of some idiot", and stated that it was "a bloody disgrace". Mr. Stringy was later found dumped nearby, down an embankment on the Tambo River, and was unofficially retrieved and replaced in position by workers from a local Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) branch.
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
project and tourist attraction on the Great Alpine Road
Great Alpine Road
The Great Alpine Road is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Australian Alps...
in East Gippsland
East Gippsland
East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114....
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Mr. Stringy is a sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
in a human form, originally carved from a stringybark
Stringybark
A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the Myrtaceae family. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous...
stump, which is regularly repainted into different topical characters by anonymous community members.
Description
Mr. Stringy is located at Dead Horse Flat on a remote and isolated section of the Great Alpine RoadGreat Alpine Road
The Great Alpine Road is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Australian Alps...
alongside the Tambo River
Tambo River (Victoria)
The Tambo River is a river in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia with a total length in excess of 170 km. It is the longest river in the Tambo and Nicholson Basin, extending from the steep forested southern slopes of the Australian Alps through forest and farmland to the Gippsland...
in East Gippsland, at an elevation of 203 m (666 ft). The nearest habitation is the small farming community of Tambo Crossing
Tambo Crossing, Victoria
Tambo Crossing is a locality and small farming community in the Shire of East Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. It is alongside the Tambo River on the Great Alpine Road, north-east of Bairnsdale, surrounded by state forest...
, some 8 km (5 mi) south of the sculpture, with the nearest population centres being the small towns of Ensay
Ensay, Victoria
Ensay is a small town located between Swifts Creek and Bruthen on the Great Alpine Road in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Ensay is north of the major town of Bairnsdale and east of the state capital Melbourne...
12 km (7.5 mi) north, and Bruthen
Bruthen, Victoria
Bruthen is a small town located alongside the Tambo River between Bairnsdale and Ensay on the Great Alpine Road in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bruthen had a population of 624...
39 km (24.2 mi) south.
Mr. Stringy is carved into a human form from a single piece of timber log, and consists of an over-large head and torso without legs, somewhat in the nature of the moai
Moai
Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
of Easter Island. Originally the wood used was probably stringybark
Stringybark
A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the Myrtaceae family. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous...
, from which its name was derived, and was most likely to have been an actual tree stump
Tree stump
After a tree has been cut and felled, the stump or tree stump is usually a small remaining portion of the trunk with the roots still in the ground. Stumps may show the age-defining rings of a tree. The study of these rings is known as dendrochronology....
in this location. However it is now a transplanted log and is thought to be a more solid and durable type of eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, such as the yellow box
Eucalyptus melliodora
Eucalyptus melliodora, commonly known as Yellow Box, is a medium sized to occasionally tall eucalypt. The bark is variable ranging from smooth with an irregular, short stocking, to covering most of the trunk, fibrous, dense or loosely held, grey, yellow or red-brown, occasionally very coarse,...
or grey box
Grey box
Grey box or Grey Box may refer to:*Grey box , a rigid plastic container used to collect materials such as cardboard and newspapers.*Grey box identification method, used to model industrial processes*Software Grey Box Testing...
, rather than stringybark.
Mr. Stringy stands 1.67 m (5.5 ft) tall above ground, with approximately a further 0.5 m (1.6 ft) below ground. It has a diameter of 0.4 m (1.3 ft) and a circumference of 1.325 m (4.3 ft). The carved head, neck, and shoulders take up half of the height above ground, with the remainder being the undifferentiated torso. The face area has been flattened from the natural curve of the log, and has carved eye sockets and the remains of a nose, which has possibly been lost at some time by weathering or through vandalism.
History
The Mr. Stringy sculpture dates back to the 1920s when bullockOx
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
teams were the main traffic along the Great Alpine Road (formerly the Omeo Highway
Omeo Highway
The Omeo Highway is a 157 kilometre road in eastern Victoria, Australia, connecting north-east Victoria to Gippsland over parts of the Victorian Alps....
), originally being carved in location from a stringybark tree. The original sculptor was thought to be either a man known as 'Jimmy the liar' from the East Gippsland locality of Murrindal, north of Buchan
Buchan, Victoria
Buchan is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on Buchan Road, in the Shire of East Gippsland near the Snowy River. At the 2006 census, Buchan and the surrounding area had a population of 326....
, or a W. H. Henham; either way, the sculptor was possibly a member of a bridge building gang working along the road at the time.
The original Mr. Stringy was stolen at least once after the advent of the chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
, and maybe more than once, following which it was replaced with a new version. The current version has a large steel spike up its centre in order to try to prevent further theft, and is thought to be a more solid type of box eucalypt making it harder to damage and heavier to move. It is not certain when the community first began painting Mr. Stringy into the various designs currently observed, although it may have originally been done to preserve the timber, with most of the early painting being done in basic black and white.
Folk art
Mr. Stringy is regularly anonymously repainted as different characters, usually by members of the local community. The painting and maintenance of Mr. Stringy is not funded nor coordinated by any government or private organisation or individual, and as such he serves as a type of modern folk artFolk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
or community art project for the Tambo Valley and Omeo District
Shire of Omeo
The Shire of Omeo was a Local Government Area located about east-northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1872 until 1994.-History:...
. Despite not being officially recognised, appropriate redecoration of Mr. Stringy is condoned and encouraged by both the community and local authorities.
The characters Mr. Stringy is painted as fall into various categories. The characters are often of a topical nature, such as a player from the Omeo & District Football League
Omeo & District Football League
The Omeo and District Football League is an Australian Rules Football League based out of the Tambo Valley region of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The ODFL has existed in some form since 1893, and operates under the auspices of the Victorian Country Football League...
premiership football or netball team for that year, a cyclist
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
when the Great Victorian Bike Ride travelled along the Great Alpine Road, and Cadel Evans
Cadel Evans
Cadel Lee Evans is an Australian professional racing cyclist and winner of the 2011 Tour de France. Early in his career, Evans was a champion mountain biker, winning the World Cup in 1998 and 1999 and placing seventh in the men's cross-country mountain bike race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in...
following his win in the 2011 Tour de France
2011 Tour de France
-Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in...
. The sculpture is also painted as generic characters, for example a blushing bride
Bride
A bride is a woman about to be married or newlywed.The word may come from the Proto-Germanic verb root *brū-, meaning 'to cook, brew, or make a broth' which was the role of the daughter-in-law in primitive families...
, or a skier
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
around the start of the ski season. Alternatively it may be painted as a figure from popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, such as Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
or Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
.
Mr. Stringy is sometimes just given a mild makeover, such as by by modifying an existing painted character by adding a piece of clothing or simple decoration like balloons, ribbons, or streamers. This is often to celebrate an occasion such as Christmas or a sporting victory. At other times it is poorly painted or mildly vandalised, for example by having a tin of black paint poured over it; this may quite quickly prompt community members to do a proper repaint into a new character.
The unlikely existence of Mr. Stringy in a remote roadside location, and the regularly changing characters, makes it a popular figure with current and former locals of the district, and a tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
for visitors to the area.
Thefts and vandalism
Due to its remote location and prominence, the sculpture is a relatively easy target for vandalismVandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
, although the sculpture's popularity makes genuine vandalism rare. As noted above, the original Mr. Stringy was stolen at least once, and the current version has been modified in order to try to prevent further theft or damage.
Despite the increased security measures, Mr. Stringy was stolen again in October 2010, having been winch
Winch
A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...
ed out of the ground by unknown thieves. The Victoria Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
officer based in Omeo
Omeo, Victoria
Omeo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2006 census, Omeo had a population of 452. The name is derived from the Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills'...
harshly described the theft of this "icon of the area" as "the work of some idiot", and stated that it was "a bloody disgrace". Mr. Stringy was later found dumped nearby, down an embankment on the Tambo River, and was unofficially retrieved and replaced in position by workers from a local Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) branch.