Matilda (mascot)
Matilda was the mascot of the 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Matilda was a model of a kangaroo built on top of a forklift. Standing over 13 metres tall and weighing six tonnes, it could turn its head, its ears could wriggle, and eyes could wink and blink. Its pouch doubled as a door, which opened during the opening ceremony to let out 20 children, dressed as joeys, who ran out two by two for a trampoline display.[1][2]
After the games, it ended up at the entrance to Cade's County Waterpark on the Gold Coast. In 2009 it was sold to Puma Energy who applied to re-erect it at the Matilda petrol station on the Gold Coast Highway in Tugun; however, after the Gold Coast City Council deemed it breached its planning regulations, it was relocated to the Matilda fuel station on the Bruce Highway at Kybong.
See also
- List of Australian sporting mascots
- List of Commonwealth Games mascots
- Borobi (mascot)
- Clyde (mascot)
- Karak (mascot)
- Shera (mascot)
References
- ^ Mascot Commonwealth Games Australia
- ^ Commonwealth Games: Matilda enjoys the quiet life after shining in spotlight as 1982 mascot Archived 2018-04-05 at the Wayback Machine ABC News 4 April 2018