PUSH FOR A STATUE
DOES TARZAN DESERVE ONE?
A RENEWED push to immortalise Michael ‘Tarzan’ Fomenko in statue form has been quashed by a Babinda community leader, who has suggested someone else would be more deserving of a memorial.
Edmonton resident Fred Morris is lobbying Cairns Regional Council to build a monument to Mr Fomenko, who died at Babinda MultiPurpose Health Centre a year ago at the age of 88.
The legendary bushman was a frequent sight along the Bruce Highway as he walked shirtless between Innisfail and Cairns, lugging a large sugar sack over his shoulder.
He earned his nickname for the way he lived his life – often as a hermit in the rainforest – and was reportedly a descendant of Russian royalty, although this aspect of his remarkable life, which also involved wrestling matches with crocodiles and living among tribes in Papua New Guinea, has been disputed by scholars.
Mr Morris, who has started a fan page on social media dedicated to Tarzan’s memory, said the first anniversary of Mr Fomenko’s death was the perfect time to get the ball rolling for a monument.
“Surely there must be a space at Babinda, maybe alongside the visitor information centre?” he said. “It’s visual then. “Tarzan walked from to Cairns to Babinda, mainly in the latter part of his life, as we all know, always carrying that sugar bag. He deserves a statue because he was an icon in the minds of a lot of people, and some also saw him as a tourist attraction: people came to Cairns and would look for him.”
Babinda Chamber of Commerce president Roddo Edwards did not believe Mr Fomenko deserved a statue.
“He might be a bit of a folklore legend, but he didn’t make any contribution to society, whatsoever,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone really sees him as being Babinda’s boy: he just breezed in here, occasionally.
“People should perhaps live with the memory of him, rather than a monument.”
In the wake of Mr Fomenko’s death last year, Cairns Mayor Bob Manning ruled out a bronze statue.
Tarzan’s 2015 biographer, Peter Ryle, also rejected the idea of a statue, suggesting Mr Fomenko would have preferred to have been remembered with no fuss.