An alternative sculpture, a standing stone of “Ciment Fondu”, has been crafted by local sculptor Earl Ingleby along with 20 volunteers.

Mr Ingleby said Creswick locals were unhappy the cup and ball sculpture slated for Calembeen Park had been commissioned without the consultation of the town’s people.

“I hope we can have a dig at artwork that is decided by people outside of Creswick.”

The standing stone is a nod to the ancient sculptures seen in the the United Kingdom and Celtic countries, and is reflective of not only Creswick’s spiritual heart but also of its mining and industrial history.

“It looks like one of the stones that have been dug up around Creswick,” Mr Ingleby said.

The stone took a week to create - the volunteers created the object before leaving it to “cure”, putting it in the garden late last week.

The $30,000 cup and ball sculpture, Dearest, was commissioned by Hepburn Shire’s Public Art Panel and approved in the council’s February meeting.

Dearest artist Mark Cuthbertson said he was inspired to create the large-scale sculpture after researching the history of the Creswick mining disaster.

The sculpture is scheduled to be erected by August.

Friends of Calembeen confirmed it had not been consulted about the Calembeen Park sculpture before it was commissioned, with current chair Geoff Phillips confirming a meeting between council, the community group and the artist was still to be arranged. He said the Friends would not make a comment until the meeting was held.

Creswick campaigner Ken Kronberger said locals had dubbed the sculpture “the wrecking ball”.

He said residents were shocked to hear about the sculpture through The Advocate, rather than directly from Hepburn Shire Council.

“Creswick wants something happy to celebrate its history. This is an opportunity lost.”