Expensive repairs get federal funding

WORK to repair vandalism damage to Bendigo’s iconic Loong the Dragon has received a significant cash injection, courtesy of the federal government.

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles and Member for Bendigo Lisa Chester last week jointly announced a grant of $100,000 during a visit to the Golden Dragon Museum, which houses Loong.

Mr Giles said the attack on Loong was unacceptable.

“The government strongly condemns this attack; there is no place for this behaviour in Australia,” he said.

Ms Chesters said she had been “deeply saddened” to learn of the attacks.

“This funding will repair and restore Loong, who is an iconic symbol of our country’s rich Chinese Australian culture,” she said, adding that the government understood the dragon’s historical and cultural significance.

The museum, The Great Stupa, Bendigo RSL facilities and other historical and important sites and items were targeted in the attacks earlier this month, which involved monuments, statues and similar artefacts.

A man and a woman from the Melbourne suburb of Seaford have since been charged and will face court in August.

Speaking to local media after the attacks, museum chief executive officer Hugo Leschen said the overall bill to repair oily fluid damage to Loong, statues, paintings and other items could be as high as $100,000.

Loong is the oldest intact processional dragon in the world. He made his first processional appearance at the opening of the first federal parliament in 1901 and was the star attraction of Bendigo’s annual Easter parade until his retirement in 1970.

He was created by the Sing Cheung workshop in the city of Foshan on the Pearl River near Guangzhou, in southern China.

Loong is made from silks, mirrors, bamboo, kingfisher feathers, and papier-mache. His name simply means ‘dragon’ but historically he was also referred to by the Chinese community as Gum Loong (Golden Dragon) and Moo Loong (Dancing Dragon).