The Big Bird

Rema Drilling

Homere and Neno from "Rema Drilling" taking a well deserved break from their task of drilling through patches of almost solid rock to produce shafts bg enough to set Stanley in place. Thanks guys - we couldn't have done it without you!

John "rust paints" Stanley

Here's John painting Stanley all over with a special rust effect paint to ensure every inch of the 18 metre tall bird looks the same. This is a bit different ot what he means when he usually "paints an emu"...

The Big Bird

Stanley was conceptualized whilst I was driving on the Birdsville Track back in 2007, the idea was to create a statue of a big bird on the Birdsville Track – like a tribute to a pioneer. Although he was originally to be located at Birdsville, on the Birdsville track, the tyranny of distance, remoteness and beaurocracy led to Stanley being a no-show at Birdsville.

Signing off

John signs off on the project with special thank you's into the wet cement.

Stanley is finally complete

From a dream, to a vision, to a project, to completion - years in the making - Stanley is finally complete. Standing proudly over the Castlereagh Highway.