Elizabeth Street’s feline mascot

Stand opposite the old GPO and look towards Flinders St, and you’ll see the Mazda cat sign on the side of the Beehive Building at 94 Elizabeth St.

Melbourne is painted all over with ghost signs – old advertisements and business signs that have remained long after the companies or products they were promoting have disappeared.

If you keep an eye out on your next neighbourhood stroll, you’re sure to spot at least a handful of signs from old milk bars and other local businesses of times past.

The Mazda cat sign on Elizabeth St is one of the CBD’s most emblematic ghost signs.

Painted in 1956, the sign has no connection to the car manufacturer; it originally advertised Mazda Lamps, which manufactured incandescent light bulbs in Australia throughout the mid- to late-20th century.

The sign makes an appearance in the background of the 1959 film On the Beach, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner.

The Mazda company name and slogan have been removed, and only the painting of the cat looking west over the city remains.

Back in 2017, the sign came under threat when an application was made for another advertisement to be painted on the same building.

Following a campaign from the Melbourne Heritage Action group, it was confirmed that the new sign would be painted on the opposite side of the building, leaving the Mazda cat safe and sound.

Ghost signs are rarely heritage-listed and are therefore hard to protect.

Those that do remain – like the Mazda cat – may have started as temporary advertisements but have become beloved remnants of the city’s past lives. •