The Public Purse

A great sculpture by Simon Perry that doubles as a neat street seat, outside Bourke Street Mall, just next door to one of the tram stops. Of a decent size, made out of calca red granite and stainless steel– it looks like a giant clam or coin purse. Doubles as a great landmark to place where you are in the CBD. Friend and I got to use it one evening when all the tram-​allocated benches were taken

The Public Purse still drawing in the crowds!

This is hands down my favourite piece of public art in Melbourne. I know, it is the ugliest damn thing ever to be dropped in a mall, but that is its whole charm. In fact, this is my favourite meetings place. Screw the clocks — meet me at the Ugly Stone Purse!

I’m not gonna a lie, I originally thought this piece of art sitting in the middle of the street was a clam.
It’s pretty cool though and has definitely been the main subject of numerous mini photo shoots. From stopping to take pictures of my mate’s sitting on top of it or late at night when drunk friends are always keen to straddle the purse, it’s become pretty useful.
Right next to the purse is an outside coffee shop I enjoy going to so I usually use the purse as a meeting point. Trust me, telling a mate to meet you on Bourke street is hard enough on its own, use the purse and prove its functionality.

I used to work in a very busy restaurant near here. Many a day I wanted to open it up and climb inside to hide!

I distinctly remember first seeing this and thinking that this was a giant clam. I couldn’t stop laughing.

This piece of amazing art (to cut an originally long review short) has its home right here in Melbourne, and at the high traffic tram stop at Bourke Street Mall right outside Melbourne’s GPO.
This purse helped me manifest my desire and fulfil one of my dreams from leaving Sydney and re-​locating to Melbourne earlier this year. The purse to me symbolises prosperity, and is a great piece of art to sit on, take photos of and appreciate. Melbourne means prosperity according to this purse; and there is an element of truth to this thought as Melbourne is one of the world’s (if not the world’s) most live-​able cities to live in right now.
In September last year I lived in Melbourne for a couple of weeks to test things out before making that all big move down here earlier this year. At 9:30pm on a Thursday night (so hungover from all the champagne) I sat on this purse with three pandora bags in tow (a goodies bag, a bag with a ring purchase from Pandora at Melbourne’s GPO and a bag with a piece of jewellery won as a lucky door prize I won at a party I was invited to for fashion month at Melbourne’s GPO) and yet this purse was too good to leave. The love of money is the root of all evil; yet the love of an image that symbolises prosperity is a great love, and the street musicians who always perform right near this piece of art would tend to agree with me as actions definitely speak louder than words.

C told me to meet her by «the fat purse in the Burke Street Mall at 1pm». I get off at the tram stop on Elizabeth Street a few minutes early and wait.
It is a good place to meet, central located to all the shops in the city; you can always sit down on the purse. It is a sculpture in front of the old Post Office at the Elizabeth Street end of the Burke Street Mall.
The fat purse is actually Simon Perry’s «The Public Purse», a giant Pop Art sculpture of a purse made of red granite. Simon Perry is a local sculptor; he has a few other public sculptures around the city, including the giant green threads outside the Docklands stadium.
And C arrives on time.