7 Big Australian Icons: Things You Have to See

I just read this about Coffs Harbour constructing another BIG Aussie icon - The Big Slurpee and as the official website puts it “If council approval is granted, The Big Slurpee will open on 13 January 2009.” It just made me think of the other “Big” Aussie Icons across Australia and here are the seven most popular Big Aussie Icons.

1. The Big Banana, Coffs Harbour, NSW

One of the most popular and the first of the “big things”, the Big Banana is 5m in height and 11m long. The Big Banana was constructed to promote a banana stall, and has now grown into a full blown theme park with rides, shows cafes, gifts shops etc.

2. The Big Pineapple, Woombye, QLD

The pineapple plantation at Woombye near Nambour boasts of 12m high fibreglass Big Pineapple at its entrance. It’s a major tourist attraction and the plantation offers tours of its pineapple and macadamia nut plantations with rides on a train and a “Nut Mobile”. It only has a restaurant and a souvenir shop.

3. The Big Crab. Miriam Vale, QLD

The Big Crab was constructed to honour the Queensland Mud Crab. It sits atop a local petrol station and a quick stop at the restaurant can give you a good taste of the crabs and other local seafood.

4. The Big Golden Guitar, Tamworth, NSW

Where else would the Big Golden Guitar be but Tamworth - the country music capital of our country! It’s a 12m high guitar made of fibreglass and weighs about half a tonne. It was unveiled by none other than the great Slim Dusty.

5. The Big Lobster, Kingston SE, SA

Standing on top of a restaurant and souvenir shop in Kingston is an 18m tall lobster that weighs about four tonnes. The Big Lobster is located at Kingston in the south east of South Australia and not Kingston-on-the-Murray, just so you don’t get confused.

6. The Big Merino, Goulburn,

The Big Merino was constructed to celebrate the wool industry of Goulburn. The 27 tonne, 15m high giant ram was initially located on the outskirts of Goulburn CBD. But in 2007 it was moved to its current location on Hume Street just off the M5 Hume Expressway. Of course there’s a gift shop where you can buy stuff.

7. The Big Sundial, Singleton, Hunter Valley, NSW

The Big Sundial was constructed in Singleton as part of the bicentennial celebrations and the website says the 30 tonne sundial has been certified by the Sundial as being the “largest Sundial in the world”. A search on Google throws up several other results too so I’m not sure about that one but it’s something worth looking at. Apparently it’s so big that it took 12 days for the workers to get it in place and erect the sundial!

When I looked up the Big Australian Icons on Google I was really surprised because I didn’t realise there were so many of them. We Aussies must really love our “big things” to have constructed so many of them! It’s a curious but amusing tradition. Have a look here and here for a full list of other Big Aussie Icons.

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