{"id":860681,"date":"2026-08-19T10:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860681\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T10:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:06:16","slug":"city-of-melville-will-not-proceed-with-bon-scott-civic-tribute-following-cost-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860681\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Melville will not proceed with Bon Scott civic tribute following cost concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">A public tribute to recognise one of Melville\u2019s biggest celebrity claims to fame will not go ahead due to cost concerns and questions over relevance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Councillors voted last year to ask City of Melville staff to look for suitable locations for a permanent public tribute to AC\/DC lead singer Bon Scott.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">This included the naming of a local landmark \u2014 such as Bon Scott Boulevard \u2014 or public artwork.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">There were plans to engage local schools and artists to co-design the tribute, and communicate with Scott\u2019s estate and management.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">But city officers recommended councillors vote not to proceed with the feasibility assessment for the tribute, and write to AC\/DC\u2019s representatives and Scott\u2019s estate manager to inform them of the decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">This passed 7-6, including an amendment from councillor Karen Wheatland to request council \u201cremain open\u201d to future opportunities to recognise Scott\u2019s connection to the city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">An officer\u2019s report said about 200 staff hours would be required for the feasibility study, which would cost about $15,000. Specialist consultant costs for public art and tribute advice would be an additional $10,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">The actual tribute itself was estimated to range between $150,000 to more than $500,000 depending on its scale.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9ec14376db4eaa356ab4ed3e9bbd8d9b33d34800-4x3-x0y734w1986h1490.jpg\" alt=\"The AC\/DC lead singer\u2019s tribute was voted down by Melville councillors. (Pictured: Scott performing at the Hordern Pavilion on 12 December 1976).\" class=\"css-16r7l45-StyledImage en5ut4d0\"\/>Camera IconThe AC\/DC lead singer\u2019s tribute was voted down by Melville councillors. (Pictured: Scott performing at the Hordern Pavilion on 12 December 1976). Credit: Unknown\/Fairfax<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Cr Wheatland said she understood the financial need to pause the feasibility study, but because the singer spent part of his youth in Melville and was laid to rest within city, he deserved to be recognised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cHe used to sleep on couches in Applecross, he used to frequent the Raffles Hotel, it was the favourite venue of the band he was in at the time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cI didn\u2019t want this to be the end of (a possible tribute) . . . consider the connection and the opportunities it will bring to the people in the City of Melville.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cThis amendment is not asking us to spend a truckload of money, it\u2019s just asking us to \u2014 where there are appropriate opportunities \u2014 to recognise that connection. It\u2019s not solidifying anything, it\u2019s keeping the door open.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Another amendment from Cr Wheatland that the city continue considering future opportunities to recognise Scott through \u201cnaming, place-making or other suitable civic initiatives\u201d lost 5-8.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">Cr Jennifer Spanbroek said there were more recognisable people with Melville ties the city could acknowledge, such as former AFL star Glen Jakovich, Australian cricketer Shaun Marsh, comedian Joel Creasey and actor Heath Ledger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">\u201cI think we need to be more parochial and keep it to people who have real connections, stalwarts within society even community members who have actually spent umpteen amount of volunteer hours and really put in effort into the City of Melville before we consider someone who wasn\u2019t even born in Australia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-9cqv6l-StyledPNParagraph e8utp6u0\">City officers suggested using the future opening of the Library Museum and Arts Centre to construct an exhibition or interpretive display celebrating Melville\u2019s broader rock music history, including Scott\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A public tribute to recognise one of Melville\u2019s biggest celebrity claims to fame will not go ahead due&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134,135,124827,136,44,46,84,8080,45],"class_list":["post-860681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-local-government","tag-melville","tag-music","tag-news","tag-perth","tag-politics","tag-south","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}