HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition calling on Loddon Shire to drop plans for Mallee fowl signs in Inglewood.
The signatures have come within days of the petition’s launch by Deb Coon and backed by Eucalyptus Distillery Museum volunteers Jeff Hooley and Ian Collie.
They want Inglewood to remain ‘The Blue Eucalyptus Town” as part of a proposed $6 million streetscape program.
Council engaged Bendigo-based Aboriginal company DJANDAK to draft concepts for the project.
DJANDAK wants the Mallee fowl sign in Brooke Street and smaller signs on the town proximity.
Mr Hooley and Mr Collie said the designs “are not the community’s vision, they are being imposed on us”.
“I think there should be a .lot more conversation between the shire and the community,” Mr Hooley said.
Mr Collie said: “It’s our community, it’s our town. We should be the ones making decisions and not people in Bendigo or wherever.”
The museum pair said Inglewood was known for the eucalyptus industry and that branding should not be comprised by Mallee fowl signs.
The petition wants the shire to continue promoting Inglewood as the Blue Eucalyptus Town.
Several other Victorian towns already use the Mallee fowl in their branding but petition promoters said Inglewood was the only town promoting the eucalypt.
 They have placed the petition at the eucalyptus distillery museum and post office.