Made out of car wrecks with mobile phones for eyes, seat belts for tusks and a windscreen wiper for a tail the sculpture is a ‘perfect’ rendition of a male African elephant.
The elephant and his minders have been busy since his launch in March of this year as they travel to functions throughout the Wheatbelt.
Thursday June 11 saw the Elephant in the town of Dumbleyung outside the town hall.
Many in the community stopped by to see the Elephant and get the conversation on road safety flowing.
As a public figure it is important for the Elephant to meet with local dignitaries, taking it all in his stride as his RAC Campaign Coordinator Daniel Newman spoke about the importance of what the Elephant was doing.
Dumbleyung Primary School students came by to see the Elephant and the students got to ask questions regarding the message behind it.
Students were able to share experiences in motor vehicles with family members.
On Friday June 12, the Elephant got to feel the grass between his toes at the front of the Shire of Lake Grace as he celebrated his arrival in town with a morning tea.
After lunch the Elephant made his way to school to meet the local children where he was able to impart more of his wisdom with the help of RAC Road Safety Research Analyst Andrew Plunket.
It was an early night for the Elephant as he braced himself for a busy Saturday, for it was an early start in the morning as he was off to the Great Southern Colts Carnival.
It was a long day for the elephant with photo opportunities and plenty of talking about road safety; however with such a good vantage point he was able to take in plenty of the football.
However even an Elephant needs time out, so it was back on the truck with him travelling out of Lake Grace on the Sunday.
Dumbleyung Shire president Gordon Davidson was impressed with the life sized attraction and that it got people talking about the message.
“The last thing you want is someone killed on a country road,” Mr Davidson said.
“We’re doing everything we can to reduce that, the more people who are aware the better off we’ll be.”
The Wheatbelt's road fatality rate is 11 times the Perth metropolitan rate, six times the state rate and twice nearby regions.
This is the conversation the Elephant is working to promote, the conversation that many do not have but everybody knows.
“The Elephant in room is the theme behind it all,” Dumbleyung Shire President Gordon Davidson said.
“We need to talk about it and we need to keep from losing more members of our community to a road accident.”
For those who never got to meet him he will be at the Newdegate Field Day and will be only too happy for a chat and a photo opportunity.
