Altruism - and how it costs !

Half a century ago it became fashionable to construct giant monuments to advertise the product for which districts were famous.   This resulted in the " giant prawn " at Ballina, the " giant Merino " at Goulburn and a dozen other large roadside sculptures in various parts of the country.

The town of Robertson, in the southern highlands behind Wollongong - is renowned for it's potatoes.  An altruistic citizen owned a vacant plot of land in the main street - facing the busy Illawarra highway - and allowed this to be used to construct " the big potato ".

This was a massive potato effigy painted in the same colour that a potato usually emerges  from the ground.   It certainly caught media attention and it was featured widely, both here and overseas.  There was a mixed reaction from the locals.  Some hailed it as a step forward in promoting the areas main product, but others found it offensive and it was given various derogatory names - " the Wombat " - " the Log " and even " the big Turd ".

The march of time has come a long way since it was  constructed in 1977 and the owner of that piece of land is sick and tired of paying council rates on this valuable asset.   This is a piece of prime land in the heart of Robertson's commercial district and the annual rate bill has reached $ 1,800.    The zoning for the land is commercial - making it even more valuable.

It will shortly feature a " for sale " sign and this could spell the end for " the big potato ".   If a sale leads to some sort of commercial construction on the land, the town's claim to fame will probably be torn down.  It is definitely one of the most photographed items in this part of the country.  The numerous tour buses that travel the Illawarra highway always stop at the " big potato " to allow the cameras to click - and without it Robertson is just another " sleepy hollow " to pass through in the blink of an eye.

It seems that the council did not value this tourist asset.  It would have been a nice gesture to waive council rates in return for the altruism of keeping the town on the tourist map,and now the area must face a big decision.   If the " big potato " is to remain and give Robertson national representation, they will need to pony up the money to buy that block of land and bring it into public ownership.

Altruism will only go so far - and after paying rates on a public asset for thirty-five years - it is certainly time to shuffle the deck - and deal a new hand !