Port Augusta and Coober Pedy snag a spot on new Aussie Monopoly board
Port Augusta has joined the ranks of Monopoly royalty, landing a place on the franchise's new Aussie edition of the popular board game.
Forget Trafalgar Square, Fleet Street and The Strand - South Australia has taken over the red properties with Port Augusta selling for a cool $240 million.
Port Augusta Mayor Brett Benbow was more than excited to snag a place in history.
"It's absolutely fantastic. I think we deserve to be put on there," he said.
"I would suggest the renewable benchmark we have set would have something to do with it.
"If you look at the game of Monopoly where you have to get around Australia, just like in life you have to go through Port Augusta. You can't get around without us."
A stunning sunset over the 150-year-old heritage listed Wharf is pictured on the board to represent the Port Augusta property.
Customised community chest and chance cards also have a unique Australian twist.
Uniquely Australian: Community Chest and Chance cards. Image: supplied.
"There's a lot of history there and they have done their homework on our history with the Aafghans and tall ships and things like that," Mayor Benbow said.
"If its promoted properly and people buy it for the cause to raise money for the red cross I would imagine we would get a lot of publicity from it.
"Hopefully it will put us on the map in a positive way. Once they punch us in online and they see all the great work we are doing on renewables and our bridge duplication."
Coober Pedy and Mount Gambier also feature on the board for $220 million each.
After a tough year, Australians have been left reeling from the impacts of various disasters including bushfires, floods and COVID-19.
The Community Relief edition will see $5 per game and $2 from each puzzle donated directly to The Australian Red Cross, to further assist these areas and people in need around Australia.
Port Augusta, Coober Pedy and Mount Gambier are represented by the red properties.
Charlotte Waalkens from Winning Moves Australia, the game's maker, said choosing the featured locations was incredibly difficult.
"We wanted to showcase places above and beyond the usual cities or hotspots," she said.
"We feel that the Australian Community Relief Monopoly board and puzzle capture the heart of Australia and shine a positive light on regions that otherwise may not normally receive such exposure.
"We wanted to provide Australians with something positive in the challenging year that is 2020
"The communities chosen have all gone through a tough time for one reason or another, as everyone has ... we thought they deserved something special to remind everyone how incredible they are."
Launching across the country today, the games will be available at Big W, Sanity, QBD, Dymocks, Toys R Us, The Iconic, Catch, Hobbyco, Mr Toys, The Nile, Lincraft The Gamesmen, Gameology, Gameshop and Gamesworld.