Look: Australia's famous 'Chrome Gnome' moved to new sculpture park home

Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A beloved 30-foot tall gnome sculpture that spent four years at the side of an Australian highway was moved to a new permanent home at a sculpture park.

Auckland-based sculptor Gregor Kregar's sculpture is titled Reflective Lullaby, but is also affectionately known by fans as "Chrome Gnome," due to its mirror-like finish, or "Frankie," in honor of its original home in Frankston, Victoria.

The gnome was first installed on the corner of Moorooduc Highway and Hastings Road in Frankston, where it spent four years before being moved to Peninsula Link's Cranbourne Road exit.

The sculpture has now been transferred to the McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery in Melbourne, where officials said they are hoping the gnome's popularity will lead to an influx of visitors.

"I'm sure there will be regular parties and picnics with him," McClelland Gallery director Lisa Byrne told The Age.

She said the gnome became a local celebrity during its time at the side of the highway.

"He had a football jersey for grand finals, a COVID sticker saying 'I've been vaccinated,' and [was adorned with] Christmas tinsel. The local Bunnings had a run on buying gnomes when he was installed, and there was sea of gnomes around him at one point," she said.

Byrne said the gnome has already brought new visitors to the park -- a mother and child who spotted the sculpture on the back of the moving truck followed it all the way to its new home.

The 30-foot sculpture is thought to be the largest gnome in the world. Kregar said he once applied to have it recognized as such by Guinness World Records, but abandoned his efforts when he found the paperwork to be too time-consuming.