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Find out more »28-August-2006
Children in the developing world will benefit from the proceeds from the auction of the last seven giant fish sculptures left over from the Commonwealth Games.
Bids for the fish open, with no reserve, on popular Internet auction site Ebay at 10am on Thursday 31 August.
For sale will be the British Virgin Islands queen trigger fish; Cameroon pink shrimp; Mauritius smalltooth sawfish; Nauru milkfish; Samoa zebra moray eel; The Gambia African bonytongue; and the Trinidad & Tobago cascadura.
The fish were donated by the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Government to international children’s development agency Plan – the first ever Goodwill Partner in the history of the Commonwealth Games.
Plan national executive director in Australia, Ian Wishart says whoever hooks one of the enormous fish sculptures will not only get a rare piece of Games’ history but will also be helping impoverished children in developing Commonwealth countries.
Funds raised from the auction will help children affected by HIV/AIDS through Plan’s ‘Reducing Community Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS program in Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique and Kenya. Funds will also go to fund education and early learning programs for children in India and Bangladesh.
The auction closes at 10am on September 6. Winning bidders also receive the flag from the country of the fish’s origin and an illustrated commemorative Melbourne 2006 plaque with details of their fish. Collection, transportation and assembly of each fish purchased is at the buyer’s responsibility and expense.
The unique fish sculptures were created by Mother’s Art Productions on behalf of the Melbourne 2006 Ceremonies program, and were designed to reflect a species of fish from each of the 71 member nations of the Commonwealth.
Key Auction Dates:
- Auction commences: 10am Thursday 31 August (no reserve set)
- Buyer inspection: 10am-12pm Saturday 2 September 2006 (inspect the fish at their storage location – to book, contact Jen Hanrahan 03 9672 3654)
- Auction closes: 10am Wednesday 6 September 2006
- Payment deadline: 4pm Wednesday 13 September 2006
- Fish collection: 9am-1pm Thursday 14 September (all fish must be collected on this date)
Media enquiries:
Tim Cansfield-Smith, 03 9672 3656 0411 642 194
