The Elephant in the Wheatbelt
A life size elephant, made out of car parts, is the latest attempt at curbing Western Australia’s increasing death toll on country roads.
Entitled the The Elephant in The Wheatbelt, the sculpture is a play on the saying “the elephant in the room”. There is considerable silence when it comes to discussing the rising deaths on roads, especially in the wheatbelt.
The RAC ,as part of their road safety strategy, unveiled the African elephant sculpture this month. The elephant has been on the move visiting several wheatbelt towns in the last couple of weeks.
I came across the sculpture in South Perth last week. It is beautiful from a distance but as you get closer you realise it is made from old car parts. It is quite confronting and eerily disturbing. If this sculpture doesn’t get people talking about our unacceptable road fatality rate, nothing will.
The Elephant in the Wheatbelt sculpture was created by Maurice Rosbotham.