The Skipping Girl Sign or Skipping Girl Vinegar Sign, colloquially known as Little Audrey is an historic animated neon sign in the inner suburb of Abbotsford, Melbourne, and was possibly the first animated neon sign in Australia when first erected in 1936. It advertised the Skipping Girl Vinegar brand, and was placed on top of the factory at 627 Victoria Street, Abbotsford. Removed in 1968, a reproduction was placed on a nearby factory at 651 Victoria Street in 1970 following a public outcry. Construction The sign consists of a painted metal structure outlined in neon tubing depicting a little girl skipping rope. At night the sign's outlines are illuminated, the skipping rope being displayed in four sequential positions to give the appearance of motion. First version Skipping Girl brand vinegar was produced by the Nycander & Co, established by Swedish immigrant and prominent bacteriologist, Oscar Emile Nycander (1859-1927), who established Australia's first yeast manufactory and vinegar brewery. The large Nycander factory housed 17 fermentation vats, each with a capacity of 35,000 gallons, The sign was designed in 1936 for the Nycander factory premises by artist Jim Minogue (who would go on to build the Nylex Clock in 1961), employed by Electric Signs, later called Whitewall Neon, then Claude Neon (after Georges Claude). As was usual practice, Electric Signs built and operated the sign, for which Nycander paid an annual rent. The sign advertising their "Skipping Girl" brand of vinegar was immediately popular, becoming a well loved landmark. The origin of the connection between vinegar and a skipping girl is a skipping rhyme, usually "salt, vinegar, mustard, pepper, if I dare, I can do better..." to which the rope would be spun faster. In 1938, the company promoted its product with a girls' skipping competition. Removal In the 1950s, Nycander & Co was taken over by direct competitors Mauri Brothers & Thompson, resulting in closure of the Abbotsford works in the mid-1960s. When the building was demolished in 1968 the sign was removed. Neon Electric attempted to reacquire 'Little Audrey', but the demolition company Whelan the Wrecker claimed ownership and sold it to CE Haywwood, a used car dealership. 1970s version Following public outcry, John (Jack) Benjamin, director of the nearby electroplating factory Crusader Plate, worked with the local council to acquire and reinstate the sign on his company's own roof. Since the original had been sold, a smaller, updated version