| Back to search results » | Back to search page » |
|
SKIPPING GIRL NEON SIGN
Other NameAUDREY Location651-653 VICTORIA STREET ABBOTSFORD, YARRA CITY
File NumberPL-HE/03/0287 [ 1 - 2 ]LevelRegistered |
|
Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
The Skipping Girl Vinegar sign is an animated neon sign consisting of a flat painted silhouette background with neon highlighting and backless neon tube on steel support substructure that simulates the figure of a girl, known as 'Little Audrey' skipping over a skipping rope with painted letters spelling 'Vinegar' highlighted with neon at the base of the sign.
The current sign erected in 1970 is not the original sign. The original was erected in 1936 and is believed to be the first animated neon sign in Melbourne. The original sign was situated above the Skipping Girl Vinegar Factory at 627 Victoria Street Abbotsford and remained there until 1968 when the company moved premises to Altona. The sign was not re-erected at the company's new site.
For the thirty-two years that the Skipping Girl sign stood above the vinegar factory it was regarded as a local landmark and a public outcry followed its removal. In response to this a campaign was undertaken to reinstate it. With the involvement of businessman John Benjamin, a new Skipping Girl Vinegar sign was reinstated on the roof of Benjamin's Crusader Plate Company, a short distance from its original location.
The new Skipping Girl Vinegar sign varies a little from the original, being slightly smaller, the girl having slightly longer hair and with her dress flying up higher at the back. Its new location is at a lower height which has reduced the prominence and visibility of the sign.
How is it Significant?
The Skipping Girl Sign is of social and historical significance to the State of Victoria
Why is it Significant?
The Skipping Girl Vinegar sign is of historical significance as one of an important collection of signs marking Victoria's industrial heritage in Richmond. Richmond has the greatest concentration of surviving sky-signs in the state, which includes the Nylex, Victoria Bitter, Slade Knitwear and Pelaco signs. The signs have strong associations with the industrial base of the former City of Richmond. These electric sky-signs were once a prominent feature of the Melbourne skyline and are diminishing in number.
The Skipping Girl Vinegar sign is of historical significance for its associations with the original sign, which is believed to be the first animated neon sign in Melbourne.
The Skipping Girl sign is of social significance as a popular landmark which is referred to in popular culture, and is often included in lists of Melbourne landmarks and icons. The community response to the removal of the original sign is an indication of its social significance.
Group
Retail and Wholesale
Category
Advertising Sign