The man has issued a list of wild requests from his position on high, obscured from view at times by cloud cover as he issues demands to police from 460ft up in the air
A mysterious daredevil is currently embroiled in a six hour-long standoff with police after he climbed 460ft up a bridge pillar to paint graffiti, demand taxes be lowered, and a sandwich.
The unknown graffiti artist scrambled his way up the iconic Bolte Bridge in Melbourne, Australia, to add another iconic mural of the city’s famous Pam the Bird tag across the urban skyline.
Much to the annoyance of police he then remained atop bridge pillar perch, partially obscured by cloud at times due to its sky-high altitude of 460ft, as first responders watch on from below fearing for his safety.
The mystery vandal, however, seems to be quite happy atop his bridge pillar perch, which has caused traffic chaos on the Bolte Bridge and M1 motorway.
He has issued a wild list of demands before he comes down from his roost, sharing them on a social media account for Pam the Bird.
He initially listed “lower taxes” as a condition for his descent, and has also asked for a “blankey” to combat the cold winter air.
For the record, Melbourne is located on the southeastern coast of Australia, which boasts a far cooler climate than stereotypes usually indicate. For instance, the mercury dropped to a low of three degrees this morning – a temperature that would be presumably much colder at 460ft in the air.
The masked mystery man, clad head to toe in black, caught himself on camera looking down on several emergency vehicles and the road as he demanded a tax break.
“I’m not coming down until they lower the taxes,” he can be heard saying in the social media clip. “I’m f***ing sick of paying that s**t.”
When asked which taxes he meant specifically by social media users, the account holder simply said: “All of them”.
At about 8am local time he issued his next demand: A peanut butter and jam sandwich.
“I want a peanut butter and jam sandwich and a glass of milk or I’m not coming down,” he can be heard saying in another social clip.
He has since doubled down on that demand, posting a masked photo of himself atop the pillar with the caption “patiently waiting for my pb & j sandwich”.
Just before 9am, he (presumably) raised the blood pressure of police watching on from below as he abseiled partway down the pillar to wave at onlookers. He then climbed back up to his far safer seat at the top.
He has since shared an update that advises authorities he will come down at noon which is, at time of writing, in about an hour.
“I’ll be down at 12pm peacefully,” he wrote online, adding that he was waiting for the tide to go out. Sea level sits a further 95ft below his aforementioned 460ft-tall perch, atop one of the Bolte Bridge’s gateway pillars.
It’s not known how the man was able to reach the top of the pillar, but video from the scene shows them abseiling down to carry out their spray-painting job.
The Pam the Bird tag has been seen cropping up around Melbourne on key buildings and in prominent locations since 2023. Pam the Bird has so far appeared on Melbourne’s iconic Flinders Street Station and the city’s ‘International Gateway’ architectual display along the M1 for travellers to admire as they arrive into the city from Tullamarine, Melbourne’s international airport.
Pam the Bird specifically appeared on the big ‘Cheese Stick’, with the display made up of a number of large orange beams (carrot sticks) and one yellow one (the big cheese stick) to decorate the otherwise bland motorway.
He remains at the top of the bridge at this time.
