AN emu on a penny-farthing might seem like a strange idea to some but for Cumnock resident Les Roberts it’s a perfectly logical creation.
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Mr Roberts’ sculpture is one of the first to appear in the paddocks on Obley Road as part of the Cumnock community’s Animals on Bikes project.
Mr Roberts, who created his sculpture using scrap metal, said an emu on a penny-farthing seemed like the natural choice for the project.
“I didn’t want to use an original bike, I wanted to build one and I thought an emu would be easy,” he said.
“It’s got nice, long legs that can reach the pedals.”
Other completed sculptures include a horse on a go-kart and an orangutan on a skateboard.
Cumnock resident Roy Butler used skills he developed as a carpenter and in the film and television industry to build the orangutan on a skateboard in only a day-and-a-half.
“Now I’m just looking for a reasonably straight tree to pin it on,” he said.
Coordinators of the project hope to attract at least 20 sculptures to create the 120 km paddock art tourist trail from Molong through to Dubbo.
Orange Mayor John Davis has signed on to build one of the sculptures and coordinators will award $5000 in prizes to the most impressive projects.
Coordinator Christine Weston said Animals on Bikes, which is still a month from completion, was already attracting inquiries from tourists and bus companies interested in using the road.
“A lot of people are interested in self-drive tourist attractions,” she said.
“When you start getting inquiries early on, it’s very encouraging.”
