A little piece of family history surfaced last week when local resident Margaret Gray recognised the ‘yellow kayak’ now installed in the Town Booster display on the High Street median strip.

“I noticed the yellow kayak down the street and instantly recognised it,” Margaret said.

“It was one of Frank’s.

"I looked inside and knew the old rope that’s still attached, and the black bolt at the back.

"He built three kayaks — one yellow, one blue and one white.”

Margaret said her late husband, Frank, bought the mould in 1976 and built the kayaks while the family lived at Howqua Hills.

“The kids used to paddle the rivers," she said.

"We’d head out bush to the Macalister River, meet up with other families, camp, and the kids would spend hours in the kayaks."

When the family later moved into town, the kayaks were taken to the local tip.

Margaret wasn’t sure what became of them until the yellow kayak appeared in the recent activation display.

The missing link came through council’s public consultations on ways to revitalise the town centre during the Town Booster program back in May this year.

One suggestion was to brighten the median strip with activities for children, including a kayak installation.

For safety, the vessel was partly filled with foam so it wouldn’t collect water.

The mystery of the yellow kayak’s origins is now solved, and the display has gained a splash of genuine local history.

Thank you to Margaret for sharing the story.