About 150 garden gnomes were found on the steps of Australia's central bank before the bank's board was to gather for a monthly policy meeting.
Police consider it to be a student prank.
The board's meetings are closely watched for any hint of a move in official interest rates. But today, Sydney residents were more interested in who was behind the gnome planting than any rate rise. Local media has reported several recent cases of gnome-napping. Stuck on the Steps Sydney City Council spokesman Craig Middleton said street cleaners discovered the gnomes before dawn but the little plaster statues, fixed to the steps with a building adhesive, refused to budge until confronted with the professional cleaning equipment. The gnomes were hauled into custody at the Sydney City Council's depot.