Gumnut babies statues stolen in Perth

Statues of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, the characters in a beloved children’s book, have been stolen from Perth’s Stirling Gardens.

The city’s lord mayor, Lisa Scaffidi, said the council believed the bronze statues of the gumnut babies had been taken from the Barrack Street park on Sunday night.

“I’m really very upset about this. Can’t say what I’m really thinking about the people who did this,” Scaffidi tweeted.

Originally published in 1918, Tales of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie tells the story of two little gumnut brothers and their amazing adventures in the bush.

The Australian author May Gibbs attributed the creation of the gumnut babies to her memories of Western Australia’s wild flowers.