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| Ralph Richarson with the "Gympie Ape" statue. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Amy Sheehan) |
By Amy Sheehan and Jennifer Nichols
"Where's the ape statue?"
It's a question museum staff at Gympie, two hours north of Brisbane, have been answering for decades.
The rock, which has a head carved in the shape of an ape, sits in a small timber and glass cabinet in the museum's souvenir gallery.
But Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum secretary Ralph Richardson said it was not for sale.
The artefact was so popular, the museum needed to make it more accessible for the dozens of visitors it draws in each year.
"It used to be embedded deeper in the museum, but now it's right up front and they don't even have to pay to see it because it's in the souvenir room," Mr Richardson said.
"Some make a beeline for it because they've come with an idea of trying to find out more, which they won't find out necessarily."
A sign attached to the cabinet says the statue was found on the outskirts of Gympie by farmer Dale Berry in 1966 while he was ploughing a field.
Local historian Elaine Brown said Mr Berry donated the statue for display at the museum in the hope of finding out more information.
She said it quickly became known as the "Gympie Ape" and was handed over to Gympie Regional Council in 1990.
"For some time, the rock was displayed in the Gympie Civic Centre and it was then moved to the historical mining museum where it continues to baffle the public," Dr Brown said.
Egyptian relic claims
So how did it end up in the farmer's paddock? And where did it come from?
Those are questions not so easily answered, according to Mr Richardson who said there were "greatly opposing views" on its origins.
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| The statue continues to draw dozens of visitors to the museum each year. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Amy Sheehan) |
"The bottom line is, we don't know," he said.
"I don't think anybody knows, but there are some possible explanations."
Heather Gilroy's late husband Rex Gilroy received a call from Mr Berry about the artefact in the 1970s.
Mr Gilroy, a self-taught naturalist and cryptozoologist, travelled from New South Wales to Queensland to see the statue first-hand.
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| The stone statue sits in a timber and glass cabinet. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Amy Sheehan) |
"We actually went up and stayed up there, it would have been in about 1975," Ms Gilroy said.
"It was just an amazing thing to see.
"We didn't know what to expect, and Rex got quite excited. Its arms were across the front and the face was like an ape."
Ms Gilroy said her husband believed the statue depicted an ancient Egyptian god known as Thoth.
She said his theory was based on a papyrus flower symbol which he believed had been carved between the ape's legs.
Mr Gilroy also believed there may have once been a pyramid built on the outskirts of Gympie, after claiming to find other similar stones in the area stacked together.
But she said her husband, who died two years ago at the age of 79, had a tough time convincing people of his theory.
"As far as history goes, it was not really accepted," she said.
"But Rex always said, 'This is my theory, and this is what I have found that supports my theory, I'm not asking you to believe me, but to go and look for yourself and you'll see.'"
Statue still a 'mystery'
Mr Richardson said other theories included that the statue was an ancient carving by Chinese prospectors who came to the region in search of gold.
He said that theory was detailed in a book by British mariner Gavin Menzies who wrote about voyages of the Chinese fleet.
"He features a photograph and his version of that statue, and his claim is that the Chinese were involved," he said.
"We don't know — it's just controversial."
Mr Richardson said he was unaware if any geological testing had been done on the rock.
Dr Brown has extensively investigated Mr Gilroy's Egyptian pyramid claims and said she had found little evidence to support the claim.
She believed the stones may have originated from a local farm with a terraced hill designed for grape growing.
"People will believe what they want to believe," Dr Brown said.
"The mystery of the origin of the 'Gympie Ape' has not been solved."
The State Library of Queensland told the ABC it was not "well placed" to speak on the subject.
Mr Richardson said we may never know the full story of the stone statue.
"I think we're all intrigued by a mystery," he said.
"We still want to find out what the truth is, although maybe the truth doesn't matter anymore."
First published at ABC News, February 1, 2025
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