By Rebecca Skilton
It’s become a local Christmas tradition that’s as anticipated as the arrival of Santa Clause himself – what will the Nar Nar Goon North Santa look like this year?
What started as an idea spurred by a few pre-Christmas drinks has transformed into a 14-year-long tradition that sees Charlie and Paula Rupe construct their very own Santa display every festive season.
“It started about 14 years ago when a few of us prior to Christmas were having a few drinks around the fire,” Charlie said.
“We decided to make a Santa and stand him up in the race in the cattle yards. People started saying they could see him (from the highway) and it’s really just gone from there.”
Each year, the Rupe’s Santa takes on a new activity, having appeared in a range of typical Australian situations from tractor-riding to barbecuing, his choice of activity brought upon by what Charlie can find around the farm.
And sitting in prime position outside the Rupe’s hayshed alongside the Princes freeway, the inventive and much-loved St Nick has spent his time delighting hundreds of thousands of passer-byers, with many stopping to snap a photograph, toot their horns or just enjoy the local Christmas spirit.
“We usually set him up on the first weekend of December, but with the rain last weekend we held off,” Paula said.
“(He’s been there one day) and we’ve already had people stopping on the side of the road taking photographs … people are really enjoying it and we love that … we just love to make people smile.”
