A low wooden board edges the gravel that surrounds the base of the very dark brown wooden totem pole carving of the 'unofficial mayor of Shelly Beach', Harry Thompson. The carving shows Harry in his 'mayoral robes', with his feet resting on carved goannas - which are a prominent feature of Shelly Beach. At the base of the totem sculpture is a bronze plaque, which reads:
In the Spirit of Harry 2005
Sculptures by Sue Bell, Stephen Killick, Stephen King
Port Macquarie-Hastings first public art beach
in memory of artist caretaker Harry Thompson
Citizen of the Year 1983
Unofficial Mayor of Shelly Beach 1999
From the Monuments Australia article on the Totem is the following extract from the local newspaper of February 2005:
"For decades, Harry Thompson was the self-appointed custodian of Shelly Beach. The well-known local identity lived in a caravan on the beachfront and was dubbed the unofficial mayor of Shelly Beach. Harry died in 2000.
"Now a unique beach sculptural park at Shelly Beach is dedicated to Harry's memory. Artist Sue Bell created the spiral pathway and Stephen Killick and Stephen King produced the sculptures as functional artworks in tribute to Harry. Beachgoers are greeted by a large totem of Harry wearing "mayoral robes" carved by Stephen Killick and Stephen King.
"The sculptural park also includes two seats, a spiral pathway and a sculptural interpretation of Harry's famous caravan, which doubles as a picnic table.
"Mrs Bell designed and created a spiral path inspired by a shell from Shelly Beach. The artwork features ceramic tiles made by Jann Kesby, while the path was made by Rob Ford. "The path is a historical reference to Harry's life and the community has given me messages to write on the tiles in his memory," Mrs Bell said..."
[Port Macquarie News (NSW), 6 February, 2005 Harry Thompson]
Evidently Harry and his wife Jean Thompson had won some lottery money in 1960 and decided to have a 'sea change'. He bought a caravan and on coming down a dirt track to Shelly Beach got the caravan bogged in the sand; where it ended up staying.
While 'squatting' he worked at tidying up the beach and the surrounds, making a set of steps up to a lookout (now known as Harry's Lookout). Because of his consistent volunteer work at Shelly Beach the locals resisted efforts of the local Council at evicting Harry and Jean from this location. In 1983 he was elected 'Citizen of the Year', and shortly before his death 31st January 2000 he had been proclaimed 'Mayor of Shelly Beach'. This is a fitting tribute.
Address: Northern end of car park, Shelly Beach, Port Macquarie, NSW, 2444, Australia
Visited: 0841-2, Sunday, 29 July, 2018