Sweet news: Pooh Bear's Corner sign to soon return home to rightful place on the mountain

There were some worried whispers when the sign at Pooh Bear’s Corner was recently taken down, but it will soon return home.

Pooh Bear’s Corner has been a landmark since the 1970s and is still a sight everyone looks forward to passing when driving between Batemans Bay and Canberra.

Narooma Men’s Shed was tasked with the important job of giving the sign some tender love and care.

Narooma Men’s Shed president David Trickett and his team worked to give the sign an update.

“It’s not a little makeover at all, it’s a complete makeover,” he said.

“Our local Mayor, Mathew Hatcher, got in touch with us and said the sign was not in its best state.

“He asked if we could refurb it, and we said yes.”

Mayor Hatcher said the restoration works began when a Eurobodalla resident reached out earlier this month.

“I got an email from a resident of the Eurobodalla, saying she had just come back from visiting Canberra and saw that the sign was pretty derelict looking on her way back,” he said.

“I reached out to the Men’s Shed because I thought it would be great to have Council working on projects with them.”

Two weeks after the sign came into the care of Narooma Men’s Shed, it will soon be reinstalled on the side of the Clyde Mountain.

“We’ve now got it finished and ready to go, with [Eurobodalla Shire] Council coming to fetch it on Tuesday morning,” he said.

“After that, I’m not quite sure when exactly it is going to get fitted back to its spot.

“Council has other jobs by the roadside or on the road that it needs to do first.”

To make sure the sign was in its best condition, the Narooma Men’s Shed worked to make it look lovely, but also durable.

“We had about six or eight people doing various things – painting, assembling it and fixing it all up, generally speaking,” David said.

“We’ve also filled the edges in to hopefully stop any rain getting in between the different layers and to make it last a bit longer.”

Other elements of the restoration included taking the sign apart, cleaning each piece and repainting.

The new sign also includes a painting by artist Rose Gauslaa.

“As for Pooh Bear himself, Rose cut out a picture of him and used it as a guide.

“She’s a real fan of Pooh, and has been since she was a kid.”

David said he was proud of the final result.

“I’m more than happy with what we’ve done,” he said. “We’re part of the community, but so is the sign for about 47 years or so [since the sign was first installed].”

“It’s really good to be giving back to the community.”

David said he was surprised by the number of people interested in the Pooh Bear’s Corner sign.

“Pooh Bear’s a pretty popular talent, as has been for quite some years,” he said.

“Until something like this happens, I think people don’t realise how popular Pooh Bear and his little friends are.”

Mayor Hatcher said Council is not looking to further develop Pooh Bear’s Corner.

“Lots of people say that we should do more – maybe put a sign up with the site’s history – but we don’t want an accident to happen there,” he said.

“The corner is on a major highway, and there’s definitely no space there to have a spot where people can pull over and park.

“It should remain a place that we continue to drive past and point out, rather than somewhere we stop.”