In the process , the mistreated mermaid could become Australia's answer to Copenhagen 's famous Little Mermaid bronze statue inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale , which has been subjected to attacks by vandals over the years.
The Darwin artist , acquainted with the North Queensland art scene, has herself contributed to the production of creative works in Townsville and on Magnetic Island .
She believes the now mutilated mermaid should be removed and restored as a community project , become the centre of a proposed annual festival .
Her suggestion has been enthusiastically supported by the Shipping Reporter who has long covered the plight of the mermaid , a fibreglass figure which appeared ,without explanation , on rocks at the entrance to the island , with very little mainland media coverage.
Subsequently her head and arms were torn off , she suffered other outrages ,including having a Scott Morrison cut-out head placed on top of her battered torso . Yuk!
The Shipping Reporter revealed that a group of islanders , shocked at her treatment, had named her Isla.
Because of his many posts about the mermaid, a creative islander presented him with two knitted mermaid dolls she made .
The Darwin artist said making mermaids could become a big island cottage industry as a result of a mermaid festival .
UPCOMING : Follow up to mermaid festival proposal and Shipping Reporter mermaid scoop .
