Traffic at Bolte Bridge building as graffiti artists climbs 140m pillar on Melbourne’s major bridge
‘I’m not coming down until they lower the taxes,’ the graffiti artist said on social media.
Police are stuck in a stand-off with a man on top of a major inner-city bridge after a dangerous graffiti stunt.
Traffic is building on Melbourne’s Bolte Bridge after emergency services were called at 3am on Tuesday over reports a graffiti artist had climbed up one of the 140-metre-high pillars.
It’s believed the man abseiled down the pillar and painted a giant Pam the Bird tag, which has been illegally painted on Melbourne landmarks for years, often in hard to reach places and on heritage-listed buildings.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.A police spokesperson said they are negotiating with the man to get him down safely.
“He is refusing to follow police direction and come down,” the spokesperson said.
“There are a significant number of police resources in the area including uniform members and water police units.”
They said there is no threat to the public or road users and one lane of the bridge is closed.
An Instagram page, @pambirdofficial, has shared videos appearing to be from the top of the pillar on Tuesday with the hashtag #notcomingdown.
In one video, a caption says: “Lower the taxes and drone me some f...en food! Let’s go boys and girls!”
In the same video, a man’s voice says: “I’m not coming down until they lower the taxes.”
In another video, it shows feet dangling off the tower and zooms in on a large police presence down below before the man “flips the bird” to officers down below.
It is not yet known who the man on the Bolte Bridge is.
Police previously charged 22-year-old Jack Gibson-Burrell with 209 offences over the Pam the Bird graffiti, including reckless conduct endangering life or serious injury, criminal damage, theft and aggravated burglary.
Mr Gibson-Burrell is accused of causing about $700,000 in damages, including to heritage-listed Victorian landmarks where he allegedly sprayed the tag.
This includes allegations he trespassed into Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station in July 2024 and abseiled up its famous clock tower to paint the bird on it.
He was granted bail in May ahead of a future trial in the County Court.
His bail conditions included complying with a nightly curfew at his Geelong address and to not possess abseiling or graffiti-related items.
