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An Adelaide shopping centre has come under fire for falsely attributing a quote about the plight of bees to Sir David Attenborough, with the broadcaster personally writing to centre asking for the plaque to be removed.
Key points:
- A mural in Tea Tree Plaza falsely attributed a quote to Sir David Attenborough
- Sir David wrote to the shopping centre after being told about the quote by a local fan
- The man recognised the quote as having been wrongly attributed to other notable figures, including Albert Einstein
The plaque at the Westfield Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre in Adelaide's north-east caught the eye of science graduate Heath Hunter.
"Back in July some time I saw this really beautiful mural of honey bees … of all places it was actually down this little corridor leading towards the toilets," Mr Hunter told ABC Radio Adelaide.
"On the edge of the mural there was this tiny little plaque, maybe 10 centimetres wide, and it had these fake quotes from David Attenborough on there."
The plaque quoted Sir David as saying: "In the last five years the bee population has dropped by a third. If bees were to disappear from the face of the Earth, humans would have just four years left to live".
Mr Hunter said he recognised the quote, which has been attributed to other iconic figures as well.
"I know that they've been attributed to [Albert] Einstein in the past," he said.
Mr Hunter said he reached out to the mural's artist, who directed him to the shopping centre's management.
"I just explained to them that it's not true and would you mind removing it," he said.
A couple of months later he returned to the centre and the plaque was still there, so he decided to go a step further.
Sir David's letter to shopping centre
He wrote to Sir David and sent him a photo of the quote.
"He sent a little letter to me and said thanks for letting me know, and then there was a separate one attached," Mr Hunter said.
The attached letter was to the shopping centre asking for the plaque to be taken down, which Sir David asked Mr Hunter to send on.
"I sent them that about three weeks ago, but they got a call from a journalist yesterday morning and it came down pretty quick."
A spokesperson for Westfield Tea Tree Plaza confirmed the plaque had been taken down.
"We appreciate the customer bringing this to our attention," the spokesperson said.
"The plaque, including the quote, has been removed."
As a lifelong Sir David fan, Mr Hunter will be hanging on to the letter he received.
"It's still in the envelope … I'll have to find somewhere to hang it."