The 22-tonne sculpture of "Nala" was unveiled by Fraser Coast Mayor Gerard O'Connell at The Fraser Coast Cultural Centre Hervey Bay."Hervey Bay is the best place in the country to go whale watching and what better way to say we are the home of whale watching in Australia than a magnificent sculpture of a whale breaching?" he asked.
Councillor Stuart Taylor said the name Nala was chosen to recognise one of the region's most beloved whales. The real Nala is a female humpback who has returned to Hervey Bay every year since 1992. Ross Bradbury, the artist behind the sculpture, said at least 250 hours of work had gone into carving the local ironbark timber alone. "I feel really lucky to be a part of it," he said.
