Four-year-old Patrick Peascod had plenty of time getting to know the streets of his suburb when his preschool was closed this year.
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On walks with his family, Patrick saw plenty of peacocks and peahens in Narrabundah, members of the famous local flock. And Patrick was worried for their safety.
With the encouragement of his parents, Sarah and Sam Peascod, and his preschool teacher, Patrick made safety signs warning motorists to slow down to keep the peafowl safe.
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"[I thought] they might get squashed over because the cars are going so fast," Patrick said.
Now, after several emails to the ACT government, permanent peafowl crossing signs were installed on Wednesday in four locations on La Perouse Street and Carnegie Crescent - thought to be the first of their kind in Australia.
It is another win for a committed group of community campaigners, which successfully reversed a government decision to permanently remove the birds in 2018.
Ms Peascod said Patrick had written the signs himself and was eager to put them up around the suburb.
"From there we talked to him about how government works and how the wheels turn slowly, and so we wrote some emails to [City Services Minister Chris Steel's] office," Ms Peascod said.
Timothy DeWan, who convenes the Narrabundah Peafowlers, said it was good to see the signs go up and the government working to protect, rather than remove, the birds.
"How many capital cities have exotic peafowl roaming its quiet suburbs?" Mr DeWan said.
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A spokesman for the ACT government said work was continuing to manage the peafowl population.
"This includes the installation of road signage in areas frequented by peafowl to raise awareness to drivers and pedestrians," the spokesman said.
Mr DeWan said the next campaign was to prevent the birds from being listed as pests in the ACT under a new government proposal.
A discussion paper released in May 2019 said the birds in Narrabundah would be exempt from a pest declaration.
The origin of the Narrabundah flock remains a mystery, with local theories including zoo escapees and former diplomatic pets.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
