Skipping Girl Neon Sign
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member bucketeer
S 37° 48.684 E 145° 00.648
55H E 324898 N 5813246
Little Audrey as the skipping girl is known is probably Melbourne's best known neon sign.
Waymark Code: WM875X
Location: Victoria, Australia
Date Posted: 02/11/2010
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
Views: 25

By the 1930s, some 30 years after it's birth skipping girl vinegar, featuring a sketch of a girl skipping on the bottle, was being produced in a factory at 627 Victoria Street.

In 1936 the skipping girl neon sign was erected above the factory

In the late 1960s the factory moved and the site was sold.
The building was demolished in 1968, but not before Little Audrey was rescued amidst a dispute over her ownership.

Audrey's remains were rediscovered in 1974 and she was laid to rest.

The loss of the sign, and dispute over her ownership, caused great media interest, with many calls for it to be saved and re-erected. One radio station established a ‘save little Audrey’ campaign.

Crusader Plate (an electroplating works), located in a 1930s factory just 200m down the road, ‘came to the rescue’, and allowed the use of their rooftop for a token rental. A new smaller sign with a more flowing design was constructed, and Little Audrey was relit on Friday, 13th November 1970.

The Plating factory closed, and in 1989, the building was, and redeveloped as offices. The development was named ‘Skipping Girl Place’, and the sign restored, and ceremoniously relit after 4 years of darkness on 23rd May 1990.

In mid 2001, the contract for the sign expired, and Little Audrey was again in darkness.

In 2007 the skipping girl sign was added to the Victorian Heritage Register (visit link)

In 2008 another appeal was launched to restore & relight Little Audrey.
In March 2009, Little Audrey was removed and spent 3 months away being pampered, before being repositioned and relit in June 2009 to happily skip away through the nights.

Thanks to TheBeanTeam who found this video (visit link) of the Little Audrey in action.
Business Name: Skipping Girl Vinegar

Business Type: Other

Physical Address:
651-653 Victoria St
Richmond, Victoria
3121


Web Address: [Web Link]

Condition of Neon Sign: Fully Working Order: Best viewed at night in its full glory!

Visit Instructions:
Please upload a day & night photo of the sign if possible and tell us about its current condition. Is the neon working? How is the paint wearing?
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Recent Visits/Logs:
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baluke visited Skipping Girl Neon Sign 10/13/2012 baluke visited it
quiet1_au visited Skipping Girl Neon Sign 09/16/2012 quiet1_au visited it
Whitepaws9 visited Skipping Girl Neon Sign 05/08/2011 Whitepaws9 visited it
themd visited Skipping Girl Neon Sign 07/22/2010 themd visited it
Rabbitto visited Skipping Girl Neon Sign 04/03/2010 Rabbitto visited it
TheBeanTeam wrote comment for Skipping Girl Neon Sign 02/17/2010 TheBeanTeam wrote comment for it

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