Mary Poppins Statue Row

Today's "Courier-Mail" from Brisbane reports on a row brewing over the construction, purchase and siting of a statue of the fictional character Mary Poppins in the town of Maryborough in Queensland. Mary Poppins was made famous in the 1960s due to the release of the film Mary Poppins starring Julie Andrew and Dick Van Dyke. The author of the original story, Pamela Travers, was born on 9th August 1899 in Maryborough, subsequently moving to London where she died in 1996. The local council in Maryborough have decided to purchase a $60,000 bronze statue of the character to be erected in the town. As it happens, there already exists such a statue, which was created three years ago, but which the council rejected - something to due with the nose apparently.