GRUMPY the turtle has landed and has been mounted at his new home at Lake Meran, ahead of his official unveiling this weekend at the Lake Meran Festival.
Created by Moz Moresi, Grumpy was made from recycled materials and represents an eastern long-necked turtle, a native species to the lake.
The name Grumpy was aptly given to the sculpture for the eastern long-necked turtle’s grumpy demeanour.
While this turtle species may not be among the happiest of reptiles, they are very placid, smart and being a scavenger, they help clean the water ways.
Grumpy was designed and created by Bendigo based junk art and recycle sculptor, Moz Moresi.
Kerang resident Brent Condelly approached Mr Moresi about the possibility of creating this unique turtle sculpture for Lake Meran.
“I was thrilled to be asked to do this challenging opportunity,” he said.
“I was happy to be able to build a sculpture for my childhood lake as I grew up locally on our family farm at Meering West.
“I was heavily inspired by John Piccoli, more famously known as Spanner Man.
“My plan was to build a British-style steampunk turtle sculpture and I started work more than two years ago in my spare time.
“The sculpture’s parts include scrap steel, gas cylinders, machine drive chain and an old worn-out V4 Wisconsin baler engine.
“Some parts were bought from scrap and recycle yards and some are 100 years old.
“There were also some parts bought locally with significant history at two Meering West farms from the Laity brothers and Alan and Helen Rothacker, previously known as the Lester-Smith family farm.”
After finding out the native turtle species continue to breed and thrive in the lake, Mr Moresi was even more thrilled with the challenge.
“Me being an interested naturalist and environmental type person I did my own research about the species,” he said.
“I had fond memories as a kid of being at the lake and in particular of the eastern long-necked turtle.
“We saw many of them, including their cute babies swimming around bobbing their heads in and out of the water.
“Hopefully once permanently at the lake, Grumpy will inspire people who visit the area to enjoy and take care of the lake and the environment.
“Not just in this lake but in all lakes, rivers and creeks throughout Victoria and Australia.”
The sculpture will hopefully gain some recognition among Victoria’s iconic sculptures, joining many regional towns to promote ongoing tourism and environmental security in these areas.
Mr Moresi also said Grumpy’s claws had been painted yellow as a safety measure because of the potential of a tripping hazard.
