Larry the Lobster in Kingston, SA

As a young girl, my mother and I lived in the regional NSW towns of Cootamundra and Ardlethan for a few years. They were times characterised by long, hot summer days, kicking around in the bush with mates and a true sense of small-town community, punctuated by trips to the Big Smoke to visit my grandparents.

Back in the late-1970s, the Hume Highway was bumpy, narrow and slow, not the long stretch of multilaned efficiency it is today.

Travelling with an annoying “are we there yet” kid in the back seat meant taking breaks in towns now bypassed by the freeway.

One of my favourite stops was Goulburn because of the Big Merino. To an adult it may be a cheesy, outlandish nod to the region’s fine wool pedigree, but to a kid it was awesome.

Standing tall on the main road, the Big Merino was a gaudy behemoth and playground. I could barely contain my excitement running up the staircase inside to stare out of the ram’s eyes.

The Big Merino is just one engorged statue in a much-loved Aussie tradition of building big stuff as a tourist magnet to showcase our agricultural or artistic prowess. Impressive? Mostly. Corny? For sure. Here we list ‘classic’ big things across Australia that were major drawcards in their day, and a few underrated and quirky ones you might want to add to your next road trip.

These attractions are those automatically associated with Australia’s big history and that arguably set the stage for Australia’s fascination with showy tourist stops. 

Big Ned Kelly in Glenrowan

THE BIG BANANA - Coffs Harbour, NSW

Established as a quirky structure to draw a crowd to a roadside stall, the modern Big Banana Fun Park has so many attractions it’ll be hard to bend your brain around them all.

John Landi had the idea to bump up banana sales back in 1964, which makes the Big Banana Australia’s first big attraction and Landi perhaps the father of the movement.

It stopped traffic alright, with 2000 visitors a day walking through the huge piece of fruit when it opened, soon inspiring the creation of an onsite milk bar and souvenir store.

The banana plantation grew in the late-1960s and received a $30 million redevelopment in the late-1980s.

It was bought in the 1990s by Kevin Ruby who added a toboggan ride and ice-skating rink, both of which are still operational.

Current owner, Village Building Co, has boosted The Big Banana Fun Park’s ‘ap-peel’ by adding nine other attractions, including Laser Tag, a Water Park, a 4D ride simulator and what they claim is Australia’s biggest giant slide.

When it was built: 1964

Entry cost: Free to enter, attractions incur a fee (packages available)

Address: 351 Pacific Highway, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450

Phone: 02 6652 4355

Web: bigbanana.com

Big Banana in Coffs Harbour

THE BIG PINEAPPLE - Nambour, Qld

Built in 1971 by pineapple farmers Bill and Lin Taylor on the gloriously sunny Sunshine Coast, the 16m-tall fibreglass pineapple attracted 700,000 visitors annually in its 1980s heyday.

A small train took visitors through the plantation, and in 1978 the Nutmobile tour was launched — complete with macadamia nut-shaped carriages.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana stopped for a visit while on an Australian tour in 1983, and in 2009 the pineapple was added to the Queensland Heritage Register.

But it has had its fair share of drama as tourist numbers dropped and it changed ownership and closed for several years. Since 2013 the owners have hosted the Big Pineapple Music Festival attracting the likes of Midnight Oil, Regurgitator and Birds of Tokyo, which offers on-site camping for attendees. There is still a train ride plus a zoo and a treetop walk.

When it was built: 1971

Entry cost: Free but costs apply to the train ride, zoo and music festival

Address: 76 Nambour Connection Rd, Woombye, Qld 4559

Phone: 07 5442 3102

Web: bigpineapple.com.au

Big Pineapple in Nambour

THE BIG MERINO - Goulburn, NSW

The Big Merino has a name: Rambo. Inspired by a real stud ram of the same name from a nearby property, Rambo stands 15m tall, 18m long and weighed 97 tonnes when constructed in 1985 from a steel frame and concrete.

Designed to showcase the region’s reputation for fine wool production, Rambo was a fixture of the town’s main street, but when the Hume Highway was built and tourist numbers slid, Rambo was relocated 800m down the road closer to the highway exit. A heavy-duty, customised rig with 96 tyres was needed to move him and the big guy now has a home with a snazzy gift shop and an exhibition of the industry’s 200-year history.

When it was built: 1985

Entry cost: None, but a store is next door if you need new ugg boots

Address: Corner of Hume and Sowerby streets, Goulburn, NSW 2580

Phone: 02 4822 8013

Web: bigmerino.com.au

Big Merino in Goulburn

THE BIG LOBSTER - Kingston SE, SA

Affectionately known as Larry, the 17m-tall spiny lobster stands in all its shiny orange glory in the fishing town of Kingston SE on South Australia’s Limestone Coast. Unveiled by then South Australian Premier David Tonkin on 15 December 1979, Larry is magnificent and, like many others in the big attractions club, was created to showcase the town’s rich seafood pedigree.

Made of steel and fibreglass, Larry took six months to construct and has served as the face of the town ever since, heralding visitors to a restaurant behind its tail. That business faded as fascination with big things waned, but the town decided Larry should not only stay, but be restored to his former glory.

Radio presenters Hamish Blake and Andy Lee spearheaded the #PinchAMate crowdfunding campaign to give Larry a dazzling makeover, and you can grab a bite at the new cafe called Janet’s Takeaway.

When it was built: 1979

Entry cost: Free

Address: Princes Hwy, Kingston SE, SA 5275

Phone: 08 8767 2019

Big Lobster in Kingston SE

BIG NED KELLY - Glenrowan, Vic

Australians love to celebrate an underdog — even a murderous, thieving one — which is why the Victorian town of Glenrowan has thrived as the last stand of notorious bushranger, Ned Kelly, and his gang in 1880.

The 6m-high statue of Ned stands in the main thoroughfare adorned by his trademark tin mask and armour and wielding an equally oversized shotgun. There’s also a fantastic museum in the Glenrowan Tourist Centre explaining bushranger history along with a fabulous interactive animatronic show of the gang’s last stand.

When it was built: 1992

Entry cost: Free to see the statue, fees apply for the show

Address: 41 Gladstone St, Glenrowan, Vic 3675

Phone: 03 5766 2367

Web: glenrowantouristcentre.com.au

Big Trout in Adaminaby

UNDERRATED AND UNAPPRECIATED

You may not have heard of these big things, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth a stop to take a snap and stretch the legs.

THE BIG TROUT - Adaminaby, NSW

Trout fishing is a beloved pastime in Adaminaby, 50km north-west of the Snowy Mountain town of Cooma. The Big Trout is a 10m tribute to this and has stood for more than 40 years in Adaminaby Lions Club Picnic Park.

Local artist and trout fishing enthusiast Andy Lomnici created the sculpture after another angler, Leigh Stewart, suggested the idea. Lomnici reportedly froze an actual fish to get the right shape, sketched it and then created the steel frame and fibreglass body. The whole process took four years, and in 2010 it was given a much-needed makeover by The Friends of the Fish Committee. Time your visit for November and take part in the annual Snowy Mountains Trout Festival.

When it was built: 1973

Entry cost: Free

Address: Adaminaby’s Picnic Park, Denison St, Adaminaby, NSW 2629

Web: visitadaminaby.com.au

Giant Koala in Dadswells Bridge

GIANT KOALA - Dadswells Bridge, Vic

Lazy marsupial or ticked-off drop bear — you be the judge at the Big Koala on the Western Highway between Stawell and Horsham in Victoria’s Grampians region.

Beryl Cowling, owner of the Koala Country Kitchen and Koala Country Motor Inn, asked her brother-in-law John McEwan to create the steel skeleton structure (out of seven tonnes of steel), upon which Dutch sculptor Ben Van Zetten made the 6m-tall koala from cold cast bronze and a mixture of fibreglass and plaster. Take a look inside to check out the gift shop, snack bar and tavern, all within the belly of the beast, so to speak.

When it was built: 1988

Entry cost: Free

Address: 5829 Western Highway Dadswells Bridge, Vic 3385

Phone: 03 5359 5230

Web: visithorsham.com.au

Big Penguin in Penguin

THE BIG PENGUIN - Penguin, Tas

Built in 1975 to commemorate the centenary of the seaside town of Penguin, the Big Penguin is a local favourite. Constructed of ferro cement and fibreglass, he stands 3.15m high as a permanent tribute to the fairy penguin, after which the town was named.

He’s even more adorable because of the outfits he is fitted with to mark various occasions throughout the year. In December it’s not unusual to see him wearing a Santa suit, a bow tie and bowler hat made from tiny flags for Australia Day and, this year in February, the Big Penguin had a huge heart for Valentine’s Day. Nawww.

When it was built: 1975

Entry cost: Free

Address: Scenic Drive, Penguin, Tas 7316

Web: centralcoast.tas.gov.au

Anmatjere Man in Aileron

ANMATJERE MAN - Aileron, NT

About 135km north of Alice Springs on the iconic Stuart Highway sits the Aileron Roadhouse and Caravan Park, home to two impressive statues celebrating Indigenous heritage. 

Anmatjere Man arrived first in 2005, a 17m-tall Aboriginal hunter inspired by the local Anmatjere community which stands behind the roadhouse but is clearly visible from the road. He spent a few years as the sole attraction until a second 17m statue, Anmatjere Woman and Child, joined. Both are built by local artist Mark Egan.

It’s a 30-minute walk up and around both statues, which can be enjoyed before or after lunch at the roadhouse and a wander through the art gallery. There’s a caravan park on-site for an overnight rest while en route north from Alice or southbound towards Uluru or Adelaide.

When it was built: 2005

Entry cost: Free

Address: Stuart Highway, 135km

north of Alice Springs, NT 0872

Phone: 08 8956 9703

Big Bogan in Bogan Shire

WHAT THE QUIRK?

Some of Australia’s more random big things have a rather, er, eclectic flavour. There were so many to choose from — a big Van Gogh easel at Emerald, Qld; the Big Beer Can outside the Kulgera Pub, NT; and the Big Captain Cook in Cairns, Qld, upon which some lark wrote “Made in China”. But here are two crackers.

THE BIG BOGAN - Bogan Shire, NSW

Despite rumours the steel statue of the Big Bogan is modelled on a particular resident of the Bogan Shire in NSW, we’re told it’s more reflective of our national bogan identity. Controversial in a community where some embrace the ocker connotation of their region’s namesake while others find the statue of a bloke in thongs holding a fishing rod and packing an esky embarrassing, the statue has nevertheless increased tourism in the town of Nyngan since its erection in 2015.

You can find it at the Teamsters Rest Parking Area near Nyngan (along with an antique Cobb & Co coach) with a great parking area to accommodate RVs. There’s also a suite of Big Bogan merch at the visitor centre in town if you’re in need of a mug, flanny shirt, stubby shorts or a sticker for your bumper.

When it was built: 2015

Entry cost: Free

Address: Teamsters Rest Parking Area, NSW 2825

Web: bogan.nsw.gov.au/tourism/attractions/the-big-bogan

The World’s Tallest Bin, Kalgoorlie

WORLD’S TALLEST BIN - Kalgoorlie, WA

Well, it’s not really a proper bin but it is certainly a talking point. In 1980 Kalgoorlie entered the state-wide Tidy Towns competition. In an effort to encourage townsfolk to stop littering,  the Keep Kalgoorlie Clean Committee decided to repurpose an 8m water pipe into the World’s Tallest Bin.

Schoolkids painted the moniker on its side, and we are reliably informed that mischievous local young ’uns have been attempting to lob their rubbish in as an after-school lark ever since. In case you were wondering, the town came equal fourth in the contest.

Just down the street is another little known ‘big’ attraction — a 59m-long Indigenous mural called Karlkurla Dreaming. Created by local artist Jason Dimer, a Wongutha, Ngadju and Mirning man, it tells the story of the spiritual connections between the people, the waterholes, the flora and the fauna of the Karlkurla area. It’s also hailed as the longest dot painting in the world.

When it was built: 1980 (bin), 2017 (painting)

Entry cost: Free

Address: Hannan St, Kalgoorlie, WA 6943

Web: goldenquesttrail.com

Category: Destinations
Written: Sat 01 Aug 2020
Printed: August, 2020
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