Saving Santa

Saving Santa

When you think about Christmas, engineering is not typically the first thing that comes to mind however, this year the two have come together to restore some magic right here in Adelaide.

Over the past 12 months FMG’s structural experts have been working with SA’s Andrew “Cosi” Costello in restoring the iconic Giant Santa, who has been on display since the 60’s, to his former glory.

Santa was saved from landfill in November 2021 by the SA TV host when it was purchased for $2 from the Adelaide City Council.

At 15m high and weighing in at approx. 3 Tonnes restoring Santa did present a few challenges. Thanks to 3D laser scanning, provided by Alexander Symonds, the team was able to piece Santa together digitally, enabling the perfect engineering solution to ensure Santa continues to bring joy to Adelaide families for many years to come.

Under the supervision of FMG Structural Engineer Nathan Bowles, Santa was finally returned to his post, on Federal Hall at the Adelaide Central Markets, on 6 November 2022 – Just in time for the Adelaide Christmas Pageant.

“Nathan was great ! Very easy to talk to and also very thorough, invested in our project and helpful. Given it was such a complex, unique project, everyone was very enthusiastic. Thankyou !! You guys are amazing” ~ South Aussie with Cosi