The Ebay auction of the last seven giant fish sculptures left over from the Commonwealth Games hooked over $46,000 today, which will go to assist children in Plan supported communities in developing Commonwealth countries.

“This is a fantastic result for the children of our Commonwealth. The additional money raised by the auction of these unique sculptures will provide an even greater legacy from the recent Melbourne Commonwealth Games to children in need” said Ian Wishart, CEO of Plan in Australia, the Goodwill Partner for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

“The winning bidders not only get a rare piece of Games’ history but are also helping impoverished children with healthcare and early childhood education opportunities”, he said.

The last seven fish were donated to international children’s development agency Plan by the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Government.

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.  They were used as part of the Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies and entertained Games’ visitors with nightly light shows on the Yarra river.

The fish sold on the charity Ebay auction were 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 last 30 minutes of the auction brought a real ‘fishing frenzy’ as the bidding quickly surpassed the $10,000 mark, culminating in $46,205. Plan thanks the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne and the many generous bidders and congratulates the winning bidders” concluded Mr Wishart.

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.

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Tim Cansfield-Smith - Media and Communications manager, Plan
0411 642 194