Matilda

Matilda the kangaroo was the mascot of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. Standing over 13 meters tall and weighing six tonnes, she was a giant of a kangaroo! She could turn her head, her ears could wriggle, and her eyes could wink and blink. Her pouch doubled as a door, which opened during the opening ceremony to let out 20 children, dressed as joeys, who ran out two by two for a trampoline display. After the games, Matilda ended up at the entrance to Cade's County Waterpark on the Gold Coast. In 2009, she was sold to Puma Energy who applied to re-erect her at the Matilda petrol station on the Gold Coast Highway in Tugun. However, after the Gold Coast City Council deemed it breached its planning regulations, she was relocated to the Matilda fuel station on the Bruce Highway at Kybong.