Back to the beach: Stolen Gold Coast sculpture returns

A 100-kilogram bronze sculpture taken from Currumbin Beach at the height of Cyclone Alfred is being replaced with an exact replica.

Sun Spirit by Gold Coast artist Frank Miles disappeared from its wooden plinth in March, sparking a nationwide search.

In July, surfer Nicka Atkins posted on Instagram his purported sighting of the work next to a pool in a Sydney real estate listing on Domain.com.

One of just three casts of Sun Spirit made by the artist, the replica has been donated by its owners, Annette and Brett Straatemeier, and will be installed in place of the original in Currumbin.

Gold Coast city councillor Gail O’Neill said residents were relieved to have the sculpture’s sister edition.

“Sun Spirit was a much-loved fixture on the Currumbin foreshore and we were all devastated when she was stolen,” she said.

“We worked closely with the previous owner to ensure this edition was brought to the Gold Coast.”

The artist said it was “heartbreaking” that three of his public artworks on the Gold Coast had been stolen.

“I created only three casts of this statue. Each one is unique, and to have one returned in such an extraordinary way feels like a small miracle,” Miles said.

He first exhibited Sun Spirit as part of the first Swell Sculpture Festival in 2006 before it was acquired by the council and took up permanent residence on the foreshore.

Locals believed the work was separated from its plinth using the noise of the cyclone to disguise the din of an angle saw.

Curl Curl residents the Straatemeiers purchased their version of the work, which they named “Sheila”, two decades ago for $20,000.

They agreed to donate Sheila in return for a $50,000 fundraiser for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

The sculpture’s replacement comes two days before the 2025 Swell Sculpture Festival, with 80 temporary artworks installed at Currumbin Beach and in other pop-up locations.

Festival founder and curator Natasha Edwards said Sun Spirit held a lot of meaning for visitors.

“There’s something magic about sculptures on the beach. They stop people in their tracks. Sun Spirit is one of those sculptures.”

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