Enter the dragon: iconic sign rediscovered

IT’S a sign of the time.
And the time was when this sign’s snaking tongue, firecracker tail and scaly reptilian body, hovering menacingly over a Malop St verandah, branded one of Geelong’s first serious shakes at multiculturalism.
For the past decade the location of the dragon sign that sat atop the Tien Wah Café has been a mystery.
This week collectibles aficionado Mark Ward revealed he snapped up the sign when the restaurant went west.
It might have been headed for the tip otherwise.
After reading the Independent’s account last week of locals lauding the former culinary centre’s delights on Facebook, he dusted the sign off and set it up at the front door of his The Amazing Mill Markets.
“Everyone has a story about the Tien Wah, it’s been a real talking point,” Mr Ward said.
“Everyone was wondering where the dragon sign had gotten to.”
The 2.5-by-1.5-metre sign was an icon of Geelong, a part of local history with which hundreds, even thousands, of folk had a connection, Mr Ward said.
He bought the sign after spotting workers removing it from the Tien Wah and, recognising its value of a piece of Geelong memorabilia, made an offer.
Mr Ward said Geelong memorabilia was a hot seller among local collectors.
Items he had sold in recent times included bar mirrors from the Terminus Hotel, dining room doors from the original Barwon Heads Hotel and gear from Geelong’s former Hy-Lite Park.
But anyone hoping to lay their hands on the famed Tien Wah dragon best hold their breath a while.
“It’s in fantastic nick,” said Mr Ward.
“But I’m not selling it.”