Entertainment
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Nicolas Cage Shrine Latest Celebrity Prank at Mount Gambier Deputy Mayor's Home
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
January 19, 2026•3 days ago
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Mount Gambier deputy mayor Josh Lynagh has become the target of a series of celebrity-themed pranks outside his home. Recent incidents include a Nicolas Cage shrine, Keanu Reeves photos, and a Delta Goodrem item. Lynagh is not concerned, believing the perpetrator knows him, and does not plan to involve police. The pranks appear linked to local council issues.
A Nicolas Cage-themed shrine is the latest in a series of celebrity-themed pranks that Mount Gambier's deputy mayor says have befallen his home in recent weeks.
Josh Lynagh is keen to find out who is behind the mysterious objects that keep turning up outside his house, but said he would not be contacting police over the matter.
"I feel it's escalated to obviously this shrine," he said.
"You would expect there would be something bigger and then that might be it, I don't know.
News and celebrity connection
The first set of objects left in Cr Lynagh's letterbox just before Christmas included a signed photo of Australian pop star Delta Goodrem, a whole bulb of garlic, shark-shaped children's floaties and a 30-cent stamp.
"I just assumed that a friend had decided to do it and then it's all kind of progressed from there," Cr Lynagh said.
Another drop about a week later included a children's biography of actor Keanu Reeves and a sticker with a QR code linking to Rick Astley's hit Never Gonna Give You Up.
As well as his role on council, Cr Lynagh runs the Facebook page Limestone Coast Community News and chairs the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Advisory Council.
But he thinks the "letterbox lurker" definitely has an interest in council issues, with one group of items including googly eyes and blue items, which might be a nod to the Cast in Blue sculpture having googly eyes placed on it in September.
A woman appeared in court charged with the crime in December, with the case set to return to court tomorrow.
Cr Lynagh voted for the sculpture to be installed and covered the court case on his Facebook page.
Six framed photos of Keanu Reeves were placed around Cr Lynagh's mail receptacle last Wednesday, along with three battery-operated candles and a note in Morse code saying "the black raven is the key".
Intrigue not concern
The deputy mayor said he was not concerned about the series of pranks, still believing it was someone he knew.
"I've had people ask, 'Are you concerned, are you worried, do you want to go to the police about it?'" he said.
"But I'm thinking the fact that it's my house tells me it's somebody that knows me because otherwise I would be concerned. So, I'm assuming that's definitely the case."
He posted a picture of the possible culprit — or at least the latest one — on camera but is yet to solve the mystery.
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