CONTRIBUTED BY LES LOUIS
Members of the Rotary Club of Wynnum and Manly have been working hard over the past few months to get their stock of Santas ready for installation at participating businesses in the area, which spans from Tingalpa in the north to Wynnum, Manly, Lota, and Capalaba in the south.
Installation of these icons will commence at the end of November, ensuring they are ready for the festive season.
The production of a Santa requires a disciplined process to achieve the desired outcome – a different steel template is needed for each colour, and two coats must be applied to both sides of the marine ply sheet, which has been previously painted white, in colours including red, yellow, green, and black. An assembly line process provides an efficient way to produce Santas, which are then ready for cutting out by the Men’s Shed. Following this, detailed edge sealing and painting are done. In 2024, 80 new Santas were produced, requiring over 2,000 volunteer hours.
The Santas have become iconic in the local area, as new generations look forward to seeing the Santas on walls, verandahs, high-rise apartments, and roofs in the bayside suburbs. It all started in the 1980s, when the Apex Club of Wynnum and Manly decided to manufacture Santa figurines as fundraisers during Christmas time.
In 1995, the Rotary Club of Wynnum and Manly purchased the Santas from the Apex Club for the princely sum of $500 (about 60 Santas). Demand for Santas doubled over time, and the club engaged the Toy Factory (now Mudflat Toys) to cut out new Santa templates. Since then, the club has installed Santas in businesses each year, and last Christmas, 95 Santas were installed. Corflute Santas were introduced in 2023 for commercial premises’ windows, allowing for another 18 Santas to appear in shop fronts.
Santas for rent come in three forms: Roof-top Santa, Fence/Wall-mounted Santa, and Corflute Window-mounted Santa. All funds raised from the Santa project support the numerous community projects Rotary undertakes throughout the year.
Please contact the Rotary Club of Wynnum and Manly’s club secretary by email at [email protected] to rent a Santa.
