Tassie tiger sculptures set for installation in Civic Square

Published on 01 September 2023

Ten bronze Tassie tiger sculptures formerly located in Launceston's Brisbane St Mall will be installed in their new home in Civic Square in coming days.

The City of Launceston commissioned the thylacine sculptures for the Brisbane St Mall during the redevelopment of the space in 2018.

However Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said following their installation, the sculptures resulted in quite a bit of contention in the community from their potential tripping hazard, impact on installation of additional greenery, and implications to the mall's functionality for public events — such as the annual lighting of the Christmas tree.

In March this year the Council voted to relocate the thylacines to Civic Square, with the installation work expected to be complete next week, weather depending. Mayor Garwood said the sculptures would be placed within existing garden beds throughout Civic Square.

"A major part of the relocation is not just around the physical placing, but also the way in which a passerby can engage and not only have fun in the search, but also be educated," Mayor Garwood said.

"A set of stencilled thylacine footprints and facts will also be placed in Civic Square, challenging children and those young at heart to find all the sculptures throughout the space.

"We know that the thylacine sculptures are particularly popular with young children, and we expect that will continue to be the case.

"Civic Square will be an awesome new home for these sculptures and I'm looking forward to seeing not only the installation complete, but the further flow-on experiences for our community and visitors into the future."