A list of Australia’s ‘Big Things’

By Mandy Dureau 1 September 2017
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From seafood to fruit, Australia’s `Big Things’ loom out of the land.

IF YOU like looking at food and animals a thousand times larger than their natural size than a trip down the east coast of Australia is for you. here are a list of our must-sees.

1. BIG LOBSTER, KINGSTON SE, SA

The 17m, 4t lobster’s gigantic proportions are rumoured to be a case of mistaken units; plans were drawn up in feet, but designer Paul Kelly misinterpreted them as metres. The fibreglass and steel structure in Kingston SE, 24okm south-east of Adelaide, was finished in 1979.

big lobster

(Image Credit: Flickr)

2. THE BIG NED KELLY, GLENROWAN, VIC

This 6m statue stands tall over the town of Glenrowan, 185km north-east of Melbourne, commemorating the place of the siege that led to the capture of Ned Kelly and death of three other gang members in 1880. 

the big ned kelly

(Image Credit: Stuart Edwards)

3. THE BIG MERINO, GOULBURN, NSW

Built in 1985, the Big Merino in Goulburn, 165km south-west of Sydney, stands testament to our 200-year wool history. The 97t me-rino was based on Rambo, a stud ram from local property Bullamallita.

big merino

(Image Credit: Flickr)

4. PLODDY THE DINOSAUR, SOMERSBY, NSW

Some say this is Australia’s oldest Big Thing. Commissioned in 1963 by Australian Reptile Park founder Eric Worrell, the 3om, almost-loot concrete Diplodocus greeted visitors at the park’s previous location in Gosford until 1996. When the park moved to Somersby, 55km north of Sydney, Ploddy paraded through town before resuming his duties on a hill near the park’s freeway exit.
TAS

ploddy the dinosaur

(Image Credit: Australian reptile Park)

5. THE BIG BANANA, COFFS HARBOUR, NSW

This vivid yellow creation, 435km north of Sydney, was completed in 1964. The ilin banana was modelled after the most attractive specimen that designer Alan Chapman could find, and it still greets visitors today to Coffs Harbour’s banana-themed tourist park.

the big banana

(Image Credit: Stuart Edwards)

6. THE BIG PINEAPPLE, WOOMBYE, QLD

Australia is home to a couple of big pineapples, but the Sunshine Coast’s 16m heritage-listed attraction in Woombye, 9okm north of Bris-bane, is arguably the most famous. The Big Pineapple plantation opened in 1971 and was once one of the region’s biggest employers.

big pineapple

(Image Credit: Stonestreet’s Coaches)

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