Giant "googly eyes" have continued to appear around Adelaide, most recently this morning on a statue of city planner Colonel William Light as he looks over the city from a site aptly called Light's Vision.
The round black and white eyes, usually reserved for children's crafts, appeared on a Dan Murphy's sign in Welland last week, a picture of Colonel Sanders on a KFC restaurant bucket in Eastwood, and a Jim's handyman van.
Today, the googly eyes were spotted on Colonel Light, South Australia's first surveyor-general.
Instead of peering across to Adelaide's CBD from Montefiore Hill in North Adelaide, Colonel Light now appears to be looking at both the ground and the sky.
While mystery surrounds the identity of the so-called "googly eye bandits", ABC Radio Adelaide roving reporter Troy Sincock said the latest episode showed the same unmistakable "signature move".
"There he [Colonel Light] is with his scroll in his left hand pointing out with his arm raised to the right over the top of Adelaide Oval into the city centre, just looking at the beautiful site he created for the city of Adelaide and, lo and behold, he's got googly eyes," he said.
"This is like the crowning glory for these pranksters.
"Instead of having the eyes looking in the same direction, they are looking in completely different directions, as if to say the world has gone mad, what a peculiar and ridiculous situation we're currently dealing with."
Adelaide residents appear to be enjoying the googly-eyed phenomenon as the city endures a COVID-19 outbreak.
"In all of the madness happening right now, I'm glad they have found a way to bring a giggle to people," one person wrote on ABC Adelaide's Facebook page.
Another said she hoped Colonel Light would have seen the funny side.
"No damage done, no foul."
Another Facebook commenter admitted she laughed at the prank but said "it's disrespectful".
"I hope someone can restore his vision. A true pioneer. But oh it's funny," she said.
Others speculated the googly eyes could soon be appearing on election corflutes set to be put up on Stobie poles ahead of the March state election.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said while the additions to the colonel's statue have since been taken off, she saw the lighter side.
"Colonel Light's googly eyes have been removed. However, I think we all need a laugh at the moment and the googly eyes appearing around Adelaide have certainly given people a chuckle," she said.
"We'll certainly 'keep an eye' on things and, as always, we don't condone graffiti, offensive messages or property damage."
The statue of Colonel Light has previously been the subject of light-hearted disfigurement, including when a yo-yo was attached to his outstretched finger.
It was also vandalised in 2020 amid criticism of monuments to colonial figures prompted by Black Lives Matter protests across Australia.
Colonel Light died in 1839 and is the only person officially buried within the square mile of Adelaide's CBD.
The statue was originally located in Light Square — where Light is buried — but was moved to North Adelaide in 1938.
