"I think Simon's a bit of a bore/Ian Ogilvy and Podgy Moore.” In 1962 students from James Cook University, Townsville, Australia abseiled down the pink granite monolith, Castle Hill and painted the character on its side as an act of patriotism, as the university had adopted the character as their mascot. At first, the local council (and some of the public) considered this vandalism and removed it, only for the students to keep repainting it. The council eventually gave up, and The Saint has been a permanent fixture since the 1970s. The irony now is that Queensland State Legislation states that objects older than 30 years old are eligible for cultural heritage status. This means that The Saint, originally a piece of graffiti, is now a Townsville Cultural Heritage icon. References External links The Saintly Bible: large site about Leslie Charteris's creation (including news blog) Official site for Leslie Charteris The Saint Novels in French Listing of all English-language Saint radio programs Public domain recordings of Saint radio episodes in MP3 format, starring Vincent Price Characters in British novels of the 20th century Literary characters introduced in 1928 Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Fictional con artists Fictional male detectives Fictional amateur detectives Fictional English people Fictional gentleman thieves Fictional vigilantes Spy film characters British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into plays Novels adapted into comics British novels adapted into television shows Novels adapted into radio programs Male characters in literature