Percy the Pear left its perch this month.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Percy the Pear didn’t fall from his perch but was cut down in what his rescuer called an “attempted theft”.
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The 50-year-old pear statue was found with its supporting poles freshly cut through after Emerald Bank general manager Darryl Remnant retrieved Percy from the former orchard site on Channel Rd, Shepparton.
Mr Remnant said he noticed the damage once he had taken the statue to safety.
“It didn’t fall on its own,” he said.
“Those main poles have been cut right off … they’ve cut those with a grinder.
“I can definitely tell you that these are fresh. They’re silver and would be all rusted if it wasn’t.”
Percy the Pear’s rescuer believes the statue was deliberately cut down.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
He said the circumstances led him to believe someone had been trying to steal the beloved statue.
“I would call it attempted theft,” he said.
“If we hadn’t picked it up, I reckon it probably would have gone by this weekend.
“We caught it in the nick of time.”
Mr Remnant could not say why the would-be thieves had left Percy behind, speculating they may have been spooked.
The fall left the pear battered and bruised, leaving a dent in Percy’s exterior.
“In the process, they’ve caused damage. That's the sad part,” Mr Remnant said.
Percy the Pear has been left bruised and battered from his fall.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Despite the dent, Mr Remnant said he was trying to find a silver lining.
“To the would-be thieves, the one benefit of what you've done is you've done 90 per cent of the work of getting it down for me,” he said.
“I reckon it’s time for a restoration anyway.”
Property developer Goldfields had asked Emerald Bank to retrieve and store Percy, with Mr Remnant hopeful the two organisations could work together to preserve the iconic landmark.
For now, Percy is safely locked away.
Darryl Remnant says the poles holding Percy the Pear up were cut.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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