Boomer with a Boomerang – (A “boomer” is a term for a large adult male kangaroo, particularly the Red Kangaroo.) I think it is a roo-kie with the boomerang. It doesn’t move much appearing to be roo-ted to the spot.
You can never have enough shoes. Big Horse at Brewarrina.
Big Lizard at Brewarrina
Ritjuruki the Big Willie Wagtail – not to be messed with. The little ones are feisty enough!
Big Orange at the agricultural powerhouse of Griffith – home to extensive orchards, fruits trees and vineyards.
The Big Pair of Compasses at Yanco – Weapons of Maths Instruction. Actually it was built to honour the engineers of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.
The Big Tennis Racquet at Barellan (Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s home town) – honouring her remarkable achievements (including winning Wimbledon in 1971 and 1980). It is an exact 20:1 scale replica of her famous Dunlop wooden racquet. Despite the widespread disadvantage and prejudice Aboriginal people experienced in Australia, Evonne Goolagong was able to play tennis in Barellan from childhood, thanks to an area resident, Bill Kurtzman, who saw her peering through the fence at the local courts and encouraged her to come in and play.
I was a reasonable tennis player once but never liked the backhanded comments about my playing style.
Also did you hear about the orange and apple that signed up for a tennis tournament. No one was surprised to find out they were both seeded.
A short drive south from Griffith to Hanwood brings us to McWilliams Wines and its Big Barrel. By the way, what did the contestant of the Griffith Edition of The Bachelor say to the young lady, “Will you accept this rosé?”
The Cut sculpture – sawmills began operating near Deniliquin around 1860 when the value of red gum timber for construction purposes was realised. Its rot-resistant and insect-resistant qualities made it an ideal choice for various construction projects, including bridges, wharves, houses, and commercial buildings. The proximity to numerous creek and river crossings in the area resulted in a consistent demand for sawn timber.
A Big Merino at Wanganella. They developed the Peppin Merino, able to thrive in drier inland regions. Today, as many as 70% of Merinos in Australia are said to be directly descended from these sheep.
Yet another Big Cod! This one at Deniliquin.
The Cobb Highway extends southward to Mathoura. Here is another Big Cod! This is the 6th Big Cod we have seen in our travels. The clean-living locals say, “Cleanliness is next to codliness“. This fish does have codlike status along the Murray.
Wool you look at this! The Big Shears on the gate of Shear Outback at Hay.
Also at Shear Outback are the Big Pins. Pincredible!
The Big Chain beside the Bidgee Riverside Trail. I had a chain reaction to this one.
We’re happy little Vegemites
As bright as bright can be
We all enjoy our Vegemite
For breakfast, lunch, and tea…..
An enterprising householder has this in his front yard in Inverell. The house is also painted in vegemite colours. I suppose with a 44 gallon drum of vegemite, you won’t have a dropbear problem.
Local giant kurrajong flowers instead of poppies at the Inverell RSL Memorial.
Inverell is the centre of the Sapphire industry so these stylised crystals in sapphire blue colour welcomes us to town.
They’ve put their heart and sole into this one! The Big Fish at Manilla – I’m not sure about it…. let minnow what you think.
A Big Kookaburra at Coonabarabran even laughs at its own jokes.
Another Big Spanner – this one in the main street at Broken Hill. There was once a big spanner at a restaurant but it was causing gut wrenching experiences.
The Big Cerussite crystals. Cerussite is a lead carbonate mineral and a major, high-density ore of lead, commonly found in the oxidized zones of lead deposits in the Broken Hill mines.
The local radio station building is in the shape of an old Phillips Transistor radio. 2BH & Hill FM broadcast from here. On arrival, we received a good reception.
The Last Drop of Water sculpture outside Broken Hill TAFE.
The Big Yabby in Wentworth – his name is Herbie and is a gift from the local Community Bank to the people of Wentworth.
Thank you to this foundation for this crustacean. Very fitting as yabbies love banks, although they usually put holes in them.
Catfish sculpture on the back of a bench seat in Wentworth. What’s stranger than seeing a catfish? Watching a fish bowl.
Orangeworld at Morquong – this Big Orange has a zest for life.
King Tut at the Edge Motel at Buronga, just over the Murray River in New South Wales. Did you hear about the archaeologists finding a mummy with hazelnuts and chocloate in a tomb? They believe it to be the Pharoah Rocher.
R2B2 was built by students of Warialda High School as an art project for the annual Honey Festival. Like R2D2, R2B2 is prone to bad language – they beeped out everything he said.
The Wilcannia fish (Parntu in the Paakantyi language). Parntu is a significant creature in the lives of the Paakantyi people providing a ready source of food and important to the social fabric of the Paakantyi community.
The Big Beer Can in Cobar. Once two extraordinarily large horses were sitting at the bar having a beer here. A guy walked in and said to the bartender, “Hey, what’s with the Clydesdales?” Bartender says, “They’re draft horses.”
New paint job 2026
And aren’t we eggcited! The Big Chook at Moonbi just north of Tamworth. Poultry farming is one of the major economic activities in the town and Moonbi is often referred to as the poultry capital of New South Wales. And for a poultry sum you can visit The Big Chook!
The Big Black Swan on the top of a Dunedoo motel. We may stay here next time and try the Cygnet-ure dish in the restaurant.
Big Golden Guitar in Tamworth, the Australian Home of Country Music.. When I was a kid, I wanted to play the guitar really badly. And after years of frustration, I can now play the guitar really badly though I do fret sometimes.
Pro Hart, the eccentric and talented artist lived in Broken Hill. This sculpture was dedicated to the tradies who built the town. It is a worker ant.
The Big Golf Ball at Warren has seen better days – it was attacked by the bogey man.
The Big Bench at the Line of Load at Broken Hill – you were once allowed to sit on this but the fun police have it cordoned off. That wasn’t very chairatable of them. We couldn’t stand it once but now we don’t give a sit.
A Big Frog at Balranald – one of many around the town. An unfrogettable experience!
Stanley the Emu – about 10km south of Lightning Ridge is this enormous sculpture 18 metres high made from steel girders, VW Beetles and old satellite dishes by local artist John Murray. Stanley reminds me of the emu who was so much bigger than all the others emus that they disowned him. He was ostrich-sized.
The Big Bogan in Nyngan – someone in the shire thought this was a good idea. Hopefully it will rust in peace.
The Big Prawn at Ballina. It is 9 metres high and weighs 35 tonnes. It has changed ownership a few times. Sales were facilitated by a prawn broker.
The Big Merino at Goulburn – they come in all sheeps and sizes but this is the biggest!
The Big Banana at Coffs Harbour. It was built in 1964 and lays claim to being the first “Big Thing” in Australia. It is a fruitful attraction for the locals and appealing to tourists.
2024 – photo update with repaint. I had a pair of banana skins as footwear once – they were nice slippers.
The Big Bunch of Bananas just south of Coffs Harbour
The Big Oyster at Taree is a bit unhinged. It can be cultured though as it’s favourite band is Pearl Jam. It has been home to different businesses over the years but now people shell out for new cars there.
All of a spudden at Robertson we sighted The Big Potato. It stood in starch contrast against grey skies.
The Big Lamb and Potatoes statue at Guyra – in celebration of a good stew.
The Big Cherries at Young – sadly cherries are not in season so we did’t even get to take another bite of the cherry.
Big Apple country – ever seen the little stickers on apples saying Batlow – they are from here – a plateau 800 to 900 metres high south of Tumut. There was even some apple juice products available – in cider trading.
Another Big Apple outside Batlow.
Earlier this day we saw the Big Rolling Pin in Wodonga, Victoria and now a big peeler as well in one day is too much to expect! But sometimes dreams come true.
The Big Trout at Adaminaby – it was a very sofishticated construction.
The Big Axe at Kew – When loggers lose their jobs, are they fired or given the axe?
Now this is malarious! The Big Mosquito at Hexham. We’ll need to call the SWAT team for this big guy. Did you know the inventors of mosquito repellant had little to go by at the beginning of their research – they had to start from scratch.
The Big Ugg Boots at Thornton near Maitland. Some people get the wool pulled over their eyes but sometimes over their feet too.
The Big Kookaburra – Kurri Kurri – this guy is so funny he laughs at his own jokes. Also handy if you have really big snakes around the place.
Now here is a shady character! The Big Sundial at Singleton was once The World’s Biggest Sundial when built in 1987. Its 7.6 metre size earned that title at the time which has since been bettered elsewhere but it still lays claim to being the largest one-piece sundial in the Southern Hemisphere. Where is the mouth of a sundial? Near the 5 o’clock shadow.
The Big Gold Panner (I think his name is Troy Weight – look it up) represents Bathurst’s history as the first region in Australia to discover gold and the home of the first gold rush. Edward Hammond Hargraves (his friends just called him Ed) is credited with finding the first payable goldfields at Ophir, near Bathurst in 1851. News of gold spread quickly around the world and in 1852 alone, 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia. I asked Troy what he liked most about gold and he told me (bursting into song), “I feel the rush; Addicted to the gold crush; I feel the rush; It’s so good, it’s so good.”
The Big Gold Pick and Pan at Grenfell. That is getting tooled up! Grenfell is one of the large number of towns in the central west of New South Wales that had its beginnings in gold mining. In 1866, a shepherd discovered a gold bearing quartz outcrop. Within some weeks,the population exploded. The town was proclaimed in 1867 and in two years over 40,000 ounces of gold was produced making it one of the richest gold fields in NSW during this time.
The Big Playable Guitar at Narrandera – at 6m long, it is the largest playable guitar in the world. A person was once charged with damaging a guitar. At the hearing, the judge asked, “First offender?” The accused replied, “No, a Gibson first, then a Fender.”
A Giant in Cootamundra – he has a huge reputation in town.
There are cod botherers down here too! – the Big Murray Cod at Tocumwal near the Murray River. If you follow my blog, big things of these fish are found in several towns in Australia. They cod have been more original.
