On the morning of 1 April, 1978, Sydneysiders gathered along the foreshore in disbelief as they watched what appeared to be a giant iceberg drift through Sydney Heads toward the Opera House. The floating berg seemed to confirm months of publicity surrounding entrepreneur and adventurer Dick Smith’s proposal to tow an iceberg from Antarctica to Australia as a potential freshwater reservoir. According to the Sydney Morning Herald , the spectacle triggered a media frenzy, jammed radio station switchboards and even prompted the Royal Australian Navy to offer the iceberg a place to moor. However, as rain began falling, the ruse dissolved, exposing white plastic beneath layers of firefighting foam and shaving cream that was covering an ordinary barge. What began as an elaborate April Fool’s Day prank soon became one of Australia’s most enduring public hoaxes.
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