Rejected Gryllis brainchild finds home in Yeoval

The sculpture of Banjo Paterson’s hat has been a real estate marketing tool for owner and Orange councillor Chris Gryllis since he had it made in 2014.

But the hat has now been transported, with the help of Cabonne Council, to Yeoval’s Banjo Paterson Museum where it will remain on loan.

Paterson spent seven years of his childhood in the village.

Cr Gryllis said he was pleased to see the hat used.

“I’m happy the hat is going to fulfill my initial ambition,” he said.

“I’m a bit disappointed Orange City Council rejected my offer, but that’s how it goes.”

Cr Gryllis originally wanted the hat set up as a pergola at the Orange Botanic Gardens to acknowledge Paterson’s birthplace, but the idea failed to gain traction with the rest of the council, before and after it was made.

“If someday it’s decided to place it near Emmaville Cottage, I will consider the whole situation,” he said.

But museum owner Alf Cantrell, who has been collecting Paterson memorabilia for 20 years, said it was marvelous.

“I congratulate him on his foresight of having it made – it says an awful lot even though it’s not terribly intricate,” he said.

“It’s symbolic of Banjo because he always had a hat like that.”

Mr Cantrell said the hat would be pressure cleaned to remove the advertising, then repainted before being installed as a pergola with seating in Buckinbah Park to join other sculptures, including a six-metre bronze bust of sculptor Henry Moore.

He hoped having the hat by the roadside would prompt more people to stop and have a look at the rest of the displays.

“It’s like the big sheep or the Big Pineapple,” he said.

Mr Cantrell said with the roads sealed in recent years, Yeoval was now on the shortest route between Adelaide and Newcastle.

“People with caravans are taking that route, that’s made a huge difference,” he said.

The hat will be officially unveiled on February 25 during the Banjo Paterson Festival, which will also feature a poets’ open mic event.