Size really does matter
By Lisa Miller
July 9, 2004
THE eye-catching proportions of the "ugly man of Yamba" have raised more than a few eyebrows in the NSW North Coast community.
Now, after after a surveyor from the Clarence Valley Council took the tape measure to his impressive appendage in response to residents' complaints, the ugly man may be destined for the chop.
The Balinese fertility statue woodcarving has taken pride of place outside the Yamba Pawnbrokers and Second Hand Goods store for seven years, causing much merriment among visitors and townsfolk.
But after objections from several unnamed residents, who claim the sculpture's erect 30cm penis is offensive and blocks the footpath, store owner Barry Adams may be forced to remove ugly man or, worse, impose the cruelest cut of all.
"The council came and measured him on Saturday, then told me he intruded 1cm on to council land and he might have to be moved," Mr Adams said.
"Maybe I'll have to lop a couple of centimetres off him.
"Most people around here have got plenty of laughs out of ugly man, it's just a few prudes who are causing trouble.
"It's ridiculous. We have a naked lady out the front of my other shop and no-one's complained about her breasts."
Mr Adams said tourists often stop to have their photos taken with the 1.8m tall ugly man, and he had existed peacefully without a complaint until recent weeks.
"I mean what next, banning nudes from art galleries?" he said.
"The council has told me they might take me to court over it, but I'm refusing to move him."
Mr Adams said one local resident had also complained to police about the statue, but they didn't have the authority to remove him.
Clarence Valley Council acting general manager Ken Boyce said he was yet to receive a report on the statue's dimensions from the surveyor commissioned to carry out the job.