Sign Of The Times — A Lonely Heart’s Plea To Find Love
Daily Telegraph (Sidney), October 18, 2004
Helen Zou knows what she wants in a man — in fact, she’s so certain about it that for the next month, she’s advertising her requirements on a public billboard.
The softly spoken 40-year-old says she is serious about wanting to find a life partner and has spent $5000 on the advertisement, which has been mounted near the Ritz Theatre in Randwick.
The billboard, which went up last week, is headed “Husband Wanted”, and reads in part: “Beautiful intelligent Australian Chinese lady seeks to have dream family with a fabulous partner to enjoy a lifetime with”.
Ms Zou says she is looking to settle down with a professional man aged up to 45.
Her other requirements included a good sense of humour, a solid financial background, and someone who possessed a “warm and caring nature”.
Ms Zou, a civil engineering researcher, who has never married, said it had not been easy to find a suitable mate.
She was previously involved in a long-distance relationship which ended after five years. Her other attempts at romance had been equally unsuccessful.
She said she had been thinking about advertising for a partner for some time before contacting Australian Posters about a month ago.
Although her decision to take out the billboard advertisement might be seen as extreme by some, Ms Zou shrugs as she explains her decision for going ahead with it.
“I’m surprised a lot of people think this is special or unusual,” she said. “It’s Australia. There’s a lot of freedom here. If you can put up a sign advertising Coca-Cola or whatever, why not write one about a husband.”
The advertisement, which asks prospective suitors to contact Ms Zou by e-mail, will remain up at Randwick for four weeks. She already has had several messages from men who have seen the sign.
