Big Things, Part 2

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More Oz Big Things

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 Some reader email comments in response to the previous Big Things post:

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From Sue P: 

Great collection of “bigs”. The Merino was built in the 80s without testicles - these were added in 2007 after the highway was diverted and it was moved to the current petrol station site.

I partly agree with Sue.  The big testicles were added when Rambo was moved up the road to a new home but Rambo at his old home also had cods, just not visible to the public.  My friend Jim B told me many years ago that if one stood on the low rail fence and looked on top of the gift shop underneath Rambo, one would see his gonads resting on the roof.  I checked the next time I went past and he was right.

Under construction

The old Rambo

Being moved.  Amazing that it didn’t topple.

It would appear that Rambo’s bollocks have become a tourist attraction in their own right.

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From Steve M:

You should have perhaps had a picture of Malcolm Turnbull: The Big Disappointment or Kevin Rudd: The Big Wanker or Julia Gillard: The Big Waste of Oxygen!

Sorry amigo, you’ve named three pollies that I either like or did like.  So I’ll give a Big No and say a Big Sorry.

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More Big Things in NSW . . . 

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The Big Miner’s Lamp.

Lithgow NSW 

The Big Miner’s Lamp in Lithgow houses the Lithgow Tourist Information Centre.  It acknowledges the coal mining history of the area.

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The Big Mosquito

Hexham, NSW

 

The Big Mosquito was built in 1993 and is nicknamed Ozzie the Mozzie.  It is located outside the Hexham Bowls Club and is modelled after a local mosquito called the Hexham Grey.  The original Ozzie disappeared in 2010 and was never recovered.  The replacement Ozzie was put up around two months later, new and improved with eyes that light up at night.  Bring your children to frighten the hell out of them.

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The Big Murray Cod

Tocumwal NSW

From:

http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/tocumwal-nsw 

There are two Big Murray Cods - both, not surprisingly, on the banks of the Murray River. One is at Swan Hill and one, known to the locals as "The Fish" at Tocumwal. It can claim to be the first (at least in the minds of its creators) “Big Thing” in Australia. As early as 1963 Trixie Moore, Alice Johnson and Lorna Nash, all members of the Ladies Auxiliary of the local Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, came up with the idea of promoting the town by having a Big Fish and a “big” attraction. However the Big Banana at Coffs Harbour was built in 1964 and the three women took four years to raise the $4,000 needed to get Duralite in Melbourne to build their fish. It was made from fabricated steel truss and fibreglass mouldings from a plaster and clay sculpture but did not appear until 1967. Over the years the poor fish has been abused. Graffiti has had to be removed. It's been shot at by crazies with guns. The fins have been cracked. There was even a public meeting “Icon or Eyesore?” held to discuss its future. Today it is a prominent landmark in the town. 

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The Big Orange

Tenterfield  NSW

From the website “Big Shit of Australia” at http://bigaussiethings.tripod.com/orange.htm:

This is what happens when big shit goes wrong. Indeed, as the picture suggests, it has clearly fallen down from it's former roadside display, and is now wedged between two posts at the side of a petrol station forecourt, forlorn, dented, damaged, fading and neglected. Many travellers would not even notice it, but the really keen can find it on the west side of the New England Highway, near the border town Wallangarra, north of Tenterfield. Pathetic as the Big Orange is, I guess it still a big piece of shit, and therefore worth a mention.

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The Big Oyster

Taree  NSW

 Once a popular restaurant and souvenir shop, the Big Oyster in Taree, New South Wales, is now a car dealership. The windows make it look like a Big Oyster with Big Teeth..  It pays homage to the more than Big Oyster is an homage to the more than three and a half million oysters pulled out of the Manning River every year.

Does the Big Oyster remind anyione else of Dr Teeth? . . . 

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The Big Playable Guitar

Narrandera, NSW

Narrandera's Visitor Information Centre houses Narrandera's Big Playable Guitar. The Guitar was built in 1988 to help promote the Country Music Club of Narrandera. Made from plywood by ex-Narrandera resident, Robert Palmer, the guitar took more than 300 hours to complete and needs at least two musicians to play it due to its size. The Big Guitar measures 5.820 metres by 2.019 metres and has its place in the 1991 edition of the Guinness Book of Records as the 'World's Largest Playable Guitar'.

These days that honour goes to New Jersey's Liberty Science Center which in 2015 unveiled a  giant  Gibson Flying V in honour of its new exhibition, Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked The World.  However, it is reportedly virtually impossible to play and the sound is Big Crap.

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The Big Dinosaur

Somersby NSW

Known as “Ploddy” from the fact that the dinosaur depicted is a Diplodicus, it is the first of Australia’s Big Things to have been constructed.  In 1963 Eric Worrell, the founder of  the Australian Reptile Park, decided to put the Park at Wyoming on the map by commissioning the design and construction of a 30 metre concrete replica of a giant dinosaur. Ploddy was moved from Wyoming to Somersby in 1996 when the park relocated. Ploddy was transported (without his tail and legs) then paraded down the main street of Gosford in front of a huge crowd. Ploddy's concrete skin has been painted more than 100 times. It is estimated he is now 1.5cm thicker as a result.

Under construction

With Eric Worrell

Being moved, sans legs and tail

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The Big Peg

Canowindra  NSW

From “The Canowindra Phoenix” at:

https://www.canowindraphoenix.com.au/is-that-a-giant-peg/ 

Whilst driving along Cargo Road have you seen and wondered why there is a big metal peg on The Stacey’s property? The three-quarter tonne giant metal peg has become an attraction with most drivers who pass by. Mr Stacey said “There have been a fair few people drive up to the house and ask if they could take a photo of his peg. Mr Stacey said 9 out of 10 people who come to take photos post them on Facebook.” Mr Stacey got the idea for the peg from a picture he remembered seeing years ago of a giant wooden peg in a field in Belgium and said to himself one day I am going to do that. That one day finally came true. He sat down and drew the peg to scale and rang his mate Jake Willis and said would you like to weld me a giant metal peg and so the adventure began. Once the peg was welded they got Dan Bowman to position the peg into concrete with his truck. “If people drive past and smile and have a giggle at the peg then my job has been done. The peg is there to make drivers have a great start or finish to the day and if they keep driving and spend money in our town then an extra bonus has been added,” said Mr Stacey. Watch this space as the peg will eventually have some quirky additions added. Well done to the Stacey family. By Vicky Morton

 

The Belgian inspiration

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The Big Poo

Kiama NSW 

 From:

https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/29/1019441348454.html 

The Big Poo comes to NSWBy Joe HildebrandApril 30 2002 Coffs Harbour has the Big Banana, the Sunshine Coast has the Big Pineapple and now Kiama has the Big Poo. But the poo is not so much designed to attract tourists as repel the NSW government, its creator Greens MP Ian Cohen said on its unveiling today. Sitting at the entrance to the NSW south coast town, the 5m by 1m construction was set up in protest against the government's Gerringong and Gerroa Sewerage Scheme, which Mr Cohen said had ignored the wishes of local farmers and residents. He said the scheme, run by Sydney Water, proposes to dump effluent in the ocean at nearby Bombo. "Sydney Water is refusing to deal with the issue of getting reuse of effluent (despite the fact that) farming communities want the (recycled) effluent," he said.
But if it was Mr Cohen's plan to put people off with the object, it may have backfired. "Locals love it, all the passing traffic love it," he said, clearly proud of his creation. And the Big Poo's foam construction gives it two distinct advantages, Mr Cohen said. One, it's portable, and two, "it's a floater".

Which reminds me of a joke . . . 

An Indian brave rode into town one early evening, kicking up a hail of dust behind him. Very quickly he jumped from his horse and rushed into the doctor's office.  "Doc! Doc! Big chief no shit!" he shouted excitedly. The doctor calmed him down and handed him two tablets for his chief to take before bedtime. "I assure you he will be all right first thing tomorrow morning, " he said. 

The next evening, the same brave rode into town again with the same complaint, "Doc! Doc! Big Chief no shit!". This time the doctor gave him four tablets for his chief to take before bedtime. 

And again, the same thing happened the following evening. The brave rushed into the doctor's office and yelled, "Big Chief no shit!". This time, in exasperation, the doctor pushed the whole bottle of tablets to the brave. 

Yet again, the following evening saw the same brave rushing into the doctor's office. "What now?" the doctor enquired. "Big shit, no Chief," the brave screamed.

And on that note, I bid adieu, enjoy the weekend.