ONE of Cairns’ most iconic and at times controversial monuments will call Mount Molloy home in the coming months after being sold for less than the price of a Bunnings sausage.

The Captain Cook statue which has stood roadside at its location on Sheridan in Cairns North for close to 50 years will soon relocate to a Mount Molloy property following its sale to a Machans Beach demolition business owner for an astonishing 91 cents, plus GST.

The nine-metre structure was built in 1972 as a way to publicise and promote the Captain Cook motel but the land it sits on will soon be transformed into a much-anticipated health and innovation precinct.

“I didn’t want the monument to be lost,” friendly buyer Martin Anton explained to Newsport.

“I had fond memories of it growing up and so I thought I would buy it and go from there.

“Ultimately I want to repair, repaint and restore it, but first the structural engineers need to go over it and down the track we’ll see what happens with it.”

Three years ago close to 19000 locals signed a petition to have the monument removed as part of the worldwide black lives matters movement.