Accused Pam the Bird graffiti vandal arrested after stand-off with Victoria Police on Bolte Bridge
Updated ,first published
An eight-hour standoff at Bolte Bridge ended with police arresting Pam the Bird graffiti instigator, who allegedly climbed a giant concrete pillar and spray-painted a tag on it.
Jack Gibson-Burrell, 22, was seen walking towards police on the banks of the Yarra River with his hands in the air at around 11am on Tuesday.
Dressed head to toe in black, Gibson-Burrell is alleged to have climbed one of the concrete pillars next to the bridge and spray-painted a giant Bird Pam around 3am on Tuesday.
Police said he refused to follow instructions to come downstairs. While on the bridge, he posted regular updates on his Instagram account with the bio “#notcoming.” The account currently has 23,000 followers.
Later, Gibson-Burrell claimed that he would not show up until taxes were lowered (without specifying which taxes), before adding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to his list of demands.
In an update posted shortly after 9 a.m., Gibson-Burrell, who wore a yellow flower-like symbol on his ski mask, explained that he was still “patiently” waiting for the sandwich while holding his phone with one hand and making a peace sign with the other.
In the last video, released around 10.30am, she was seen dancing with her hands on her knees.
In earlier videos, he appeared to be on top of the bridge’s eastern concrete pile, facing several emergency vehicles and the road. Another video, set to music by Lesley Gore, showed the man gleefully bobbing his feet up and down while sitting on a pillar. Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.
She also wrote, “Could use a quick nap” and “I wouldn’t mind a blanket, it’s a little chilly.”
Gibson-Burrell was granted bail after admitting more than 200 charges of damaging property across Melbourne, causing $700,000 in damage.
His grandmother had posted a $30,000 bail for his release, and now he’s in danger of losing it after his alleged antics on the Bolte Bridge.
Gibson-Burrell’s bail conditions included living with him in Geelong, complying with a nightly curfew and not possessing abseiling or graffiti-related items.
No date has been set for his trial.
One of the entrance lanes to the Bolte Bridge was closed as authorities tried to persuade Gibson-Burrell to come down.
Acting Inspector Darren Wallis said the intruder entered the base of the tower and climbed the internal staircase system.
“This was a particularly risky situation, quite dangerous for the police as well as the defendant, and it was difficult for us to reach that safe conclusion, but we got there,” he said.
Wallis also said police were unable to communicate with Gibson-Burrell during the time he was at the pillar and were concerned that at times motorists were stopping on the Bolte Bridge to see what was happening above.
“There will definitely be more patrols and more police in the area,” he said. “This is a really dangerous environment for anyone to operate in, so we encourage people not to even think about it, so not just for the criminal but for the police as well.
Wallis said the incident required serious police action and would ultimately cost taxpayers money to remove the graffiti.
It is understood the cost of removing the graffiti could run into the tens of thousands of dollars, the timeframe for removal is not yet known, but it will likely require another lane closure.
Transurban owns and operates the CityLink road, which includes the bridge, and had previously cleaned up similar graffiti on the “cheese stick” statue further north on the same highway in 2024.
Temperatures dropped to 4 degrees on Tuesday morning as fog covered the bridge’s 140-metre-high concrete pillars.
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