Visitors to the GovHub were treated to an unusual spectacle this week when City of Greater Bendigo councillors became temporarily stuck in a stairwell while trying to carry a couch up to the third floor.
According to witnesses, the incident began when the councillors, ignoring professional movers due to “budget efficiency,” decided to handle the relocation themselves.
Mayor Andrea Metcalf reportedly brought a hand-drawn sketch, complete with arrows, angles, and what appeared to be a tiny stick figure in a hard hat.
Witnesses reported hearing repeated calls of “Pivot! Pivot! PIVOOOOT!” echoing through the stairwell, followed by "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
Sources confirm the councillors spent 45 minutes wedged between the couch and the second and third floor landings, engaging in what one described as “a passionate yet directionally confused debate” about which way to rotate.
SES was able to free the couch by sawing it in half, a move the Mayor described as a bold sustainability initiative.
The couch, valued at $799 and purchased from Fantastic Furniture, was last seen embedded in the wall of the stairwell.
As of this morning, council staff have placed caution tape around the trapped couch, which has now been transformed into a community art installation.
