A FORMER Darlington Point business owner has thrown his support behind a proposed 6.5-metre giraffe statue the town's wildlife park wants to erect in the main street.
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Phillip Freebody, who owned two shops in Darlington Point, said the Altina Wildlife Park plan, and other ideas, was desperately needed to "make people stop" in town.
"Not many people stop in the centre of town," he said. "Just look around on a normal day. There are no people here."
The handyman, who lived in Darlington Point for 12 years, said he moved to Griffith two years ago after closing his businesses.
"In the afternoons I would find my wife crying in the shop because nobody had come in all day right in the heart of town," he said.
"That's because there was no reason for anyone to stop."
The 59-year-old said he thought a big giraffe would be a "wonderful" incentive for tourists to stop, spend money and create a talking point.
"I cannot see the negative in the idea," he said. "Why would anyone want to knock it back?"
He said safety issues with the proposed site of the statue were no greater than anywhere else in town.
