By Mitchell Clarke
A Bunyip North nursery owner has hit the headlines after he erected a controversial sign calling Premier Daniel Andrews a “d***head”.
Murphy’s Nursery owner Tyson Huston, who had already hired the portable VMS sign to advertise his business, placed it along the Princes Highway between Tonimbuk Road and Wimpole Road following the Premier’s announcement on Friday that Victoria would enter a snap five-day lockdown.
The sign read “DH Dan at it again, Murphy’s Nursery is closed”.
“I felt there was a need to get our voices out there as a small regional business. We’ve all been doing the right thing out here, abiding by the restrictions, so I thought it was time for us to be heard,” Mr Huston told the Gazette.
“I feel there’s been no thought process about the future effects that these (lockdowns) will have on small business across Victoria.”
Mr Huston said the intention of the sign was to air the concerns of many small businesses, but also to provide a laugh.
However, Mr Huston was never expecting the reaction from the wider community.
The nursery’s Facebook reviews have fallen from five stars to two stars in a matter of days.
Many social media users argued the company’s stance was childish and unprofessional while others were more critical.
“I thought the sign would put a few smiles on people’s faces, I thought we might get a few Dan supporters putting their point across but we weren’t expecting the sort of hate and slanderous comments we’ve got,” Mr Huston explained.
“It was never meant to be a hate thing towards Dan Andrews. It was more of a ‘hey mate, wake up, own your mistakes and responsibilities just like we all do’. We shouldn’t be the ones who suffer for the mistakes.”
Despite being touted as a ‘Dan hater’, Mr Huston said that wasn’t remotely true.
“I don’t hate him. I’m probably one of those weird ones who sits in the middle. I don’t think the right is necessarily doing a good job, but neither is the left. I think if everyone worked together, we’d do a better job,” he said.
“At the end of the day, I wasn’t trying to create more division by this sign.”
But it appears the sign may have proven a genius PR stunt, with the page receiving hundreds of new likes over the weekend.
“Your page just got a like from me! This post is great! Thank you and well done! Where the hell is Bunyip by the way?,” one woman wrote.
“I hate plants. But if I’m ever in Bunyip, I’ll shout a round. Love your work,” another added.
Murphy’s Nursery remains closed in line with government restrictions.
