A COLLECTOR of vintage memorabilia hopes a place can be found in Mentone for part of a huge sign bought online that turned out to be too big to handle.
Self-described “minimalist hoarder” Stella Chivers snapped up part of the sign displayed at the former Mentone Tenpin Bowl Club before its demolition in 2013 to make way for a controversial towering apartment block at Mentone Junction.
The only problem? The vintage enthusiast does not have enough room to display the sign.
A restaurant in Port Melbourne bought the words ‘Tenpin’ and ‘Bowl’ at auction alongside a large bowling bowl that used to have pride of place at the former tenpin bowls club.
The restaurant sold the ‘Mentone’ part of the sign on eBay last month and Ms Chivers ended up being the owner of the suburb name sign.
“The main reason I bought it is because I love old vintage signage. That stuff really speaks to me,” she said. “The photo didn’t really show its scale. I knew it was big but thought ‘how big can it be?’. I had to hire a truck to get it home.
“My husband shakes his head at my eBay antics.”
Now the Brighton East resident, who also owns property in Mentone, hopes the ‘Mentone’ part of the sign can be displayed to the public as a reminder of the area’s past.
“Because it’s a one-off I don’t want to divide it up. I feel guilty because it’s a piece of history.
“I’d like it to be somewhere where people can see it and know the story behind it.”
Kingston Council has knocked back a proposal to have the sign installed as part of the Mentone Renaissance project to revamp the suburb.
Ms Chivers hopes a historical society, restaurant or business may want to buy the sign to recover her costs otherwise the sign could be split up further.
- Contact Stella Chivers at stellachivers@optusnet.com.au to enquire about providing a home or business for the ‘Mentone’ sign.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 21 June 2017
