Big Things of Victoria

The Big Murray Cod at Swan Hill – locals have a great af-fin-ity with it. Fossils of fish identical to the modern Murray cod have been dated to 26 million years ago. Once an extremely common fish in the Murray-Darling system, Murray cod were a major food source for local indigenous people for tens of thousands of years. It is estimated that the current population is only 10% of that in pre-European times.

Bee ready for anything at Echuca!

At the Echuca port village – a cut above the rest.

Big Mallee Fowl at Patchewollock – and they get pretty big around here – these two were in a fowl mood.

Big Lizzie the Tractor at Red Cliffs was built in 1915 to replace the camel trains which carried wool and other heavy loads in the sandy terrain of inland Australia. This one is the wheel deal!

Big Mallee Root Stump at Ouyen. It is from a Mallee, a multi-stemmed small Eucalyptus tree and is considered the biggest root in the world. The massive root has a circumference of 10.69 metres. Tooleybuc, east of here on the Murray River, has a similar mallee root measuring 10.55 metres. Competition was fierce to determine who had the biggest root.

The Big Wheat at Ouyen – I get the feeling I am being stalked.

The Big Tap in Mildura – highlighting the importance of irrigation in the district.

The Big Mallee Bull Statue in Birchip. As one of the earliest settled areas of the Mallee, Birchip can justifiably lay claim to “Home of the Mallee Bull”. Legend has it that “Big Red” was the king of a local herd and put fear into the hearts of the locals. “Big Red” was a magnificent creature, strong of physique, colourful and resourceful with a cunning which enabled him to survive droughts, the elements, his hunters and his rivals. The saying “Fit as a Mallee Bull” embodies all of Big Red’s characteristics. This legend, like all other legends, is part truth, part fiction. As such it contains “a lot of bull”.

The expression on Big Red’s face looks like he is about to be steer-ed to a new stage of life.

The Big Man with Axe – commemorates the contribution of the founders of the Birchip Agricultural & Pastoral Society in 1893, and all who have worked on the 101 annual Birchip Shows from 1893 to 2000. This guy has an axe to grind as the Mallee Bull got a better position in town.

Big Toothbrush in Brim? Oral hygiene is important here?… in reality, no idea.

Big Lizard mosaics in the main street of Murtoa. The name Murtoa is believed to come from a local First Nations word meaning “home of the lizard”.

The Heart of Hamilton sculpture in the background

The Giant Koala at Dadswell Bridge – I’m a bit concerned about the koality of this one. More like a dropbear.

The Big Bandicoot at Hamilton – time to scoot!

Big Boomerangs at the entrance to Wannon Falls

The Big Milkshake at Cheeseworld – they were closed so I missed out – I was udderly devastated.

At Colac – these were installed by a fun guy.

Cobden is prime dairying country and the home of Western Star butter.

On a country road between Warrnambool and Cobden, we found Bender on a bender.

Big Chicken on the road to Camperdown. This one’s a practical yolker.

The Warrnambool Seal has been a popular feature of the city centre since 2018. It was crafted by Dave Jones so it really is out of Davey Jones Locker.

Big Banksia sculpture at the start of the short Banksia Walk on Mount Leura at Camperdown.

At Portland – sadly this koala was suffering from gas issues.

Bin Chicken at the Portland Waste and Recycling facility. Waste not, want not.

Big Surveyors Tripod near Nelson commemorates the work of surveyors who worked on the South Australian-Victoria border from 1839 to 1868.

Big Bees on the Eureka Tower at Southbank, Melbourne. This created quite a buzz when it was constructed.

Another Big Bee at Beechworth Honey shop. We paid for all our honey, there were no freebees.

Henri’s Bakery in Wodonga is home to the world’s biggest rolling pin – no knead to go any larger.

The Big Strawberry at Koonoomoo. Despite the brave front, the strawberry was sad and concerned. Its parents were in a jam.

(Image: Wikipedia)

We had hoped to start the day by seeing a different kind of fruit – the The Big Cherry at Wyuna but it is now hidden in a property well off the road behind a locked gate. I hope he is happy there; his previous existence was sitting on top of a pile of chocolate and cream. Yes, life was tough in the gateau.

The Big Lotus in Bendigo – you can’t have a big flower like this if you haven’t botany.

More Big Flowers are nearby.

(Image: Wikipedia)

I had high eggspectations in seeing The Big Hens at the Happy Hens Egg Farm outside Meredith but they have been removed. They were on display around the cluck but sadly no more. How fowl of them.

We found a groundbreaking invention, The Big Shovel near Chiltern.

The Big Wine Bottle at Rutherglen. A doctor once advised a patient to reduce their wine consumption…after their blood type test came back as Cabern-A positive.

Up the Hume Highway is Glenrowan, famous for the bushranger Ned Kelly who made his last stand and was captured here in 1880 after a siege and shootout with police. Here is the Big Ned Kelly – “Ah, well, I suppose it has come to this.”