Edited extract from The Canberra Times 3 April 1967

It was the small hours of Saturday morning.  In the long ornamental pond at University House a group of men were struggling to set upright a block of marble supporting an intricate assembly of welded scrap metal... the sculpture said by the men to be by the Polish sculpture Szysbrimcki was actually born in the fertile brains of Mike Vernon and Ray Crawford.  Their marble came from the Geophysics Department and the bones of Marasmus from the Physics workshop...it was all welded together by Bruce Barry... “It was all done in five minutes,” one of the group admitted, “it had to be — we had to do it while the Prof wasn’t there.”

The only point of concern to the men was that it drew many genuinely appreciative remarks, instead of scorn... The Master of University House Professor A.D. Trendall said “I would certainly have no objection to it staying there...”

AND IT DID STAY THERE FOR SOME MONTHS, AND JUST AS MYSTERIOUSLY AS IT ARRIVED IT DISAPPEARED... But where?  It has never been seen publicly again...

Nearly forty years after its disappearance, join the hunt for this famous piece of missing Australian heritage.  An 80kg statue cannot just evaporate...  If you have any information on Marasmus, click here, for how you can help.  Can’t help?  Send your friends an email and ask them if they can!

I am writing a book about Australian hoaxes, mysteries and pranks.  If you are interested in telling me about a local hoax, mystery or prank, click here, for more information on what I am after and how you can help.