Australia is far from the only country with a bizarre fetish for brassy highway-side attractions (a road trip across the likes of Canada, the United States of America and New Zealand will confirm this) but nobody, it seems, engineers the garish and jumbo quite like Oz.

What do you expect from a country-continent with two paragon natural wonders of the world in a massive sandstone monolith and a barrier reef that is not only good but, indeed, Great? For decades now, evidently, small towns and suburbs across Australia have made it a municipal mandate to cobble together fibreglass icons to wave a flag of sorts and lure tourists in the mold of the big boy UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Kitsch sells, apparently, because from the inaugural Big Scotsman in Adelaide to the Big Church Block Bottle in McLaren Vale, Australia’s Big Things, with a few exceptions, show no hint of decline. With that, discover ten of our favourite must-see man-made leviathan landmarks across the country, from South West, Western Australia to Far North Queensland.

The Big Merino, Goulburn, New South Wales – Photo credit

Bert Bolle Barometer
Visitor Centre, Denmark, Western Australia

Wee Denmark’s Visitor Centre, some 54 km west of Albany, was home, until February 2011, to the most colossal barometer in the world. A municipal kerfuffle has left the fate of the mammoth meteorological instrument in limbo, however.

Where to stay: Chimes Spa Retreat Denmark

Albany City Guide

Fairfield Industrial Dog Object (FIDO)
Fairfield Railway Station, Fairfield, Victoria, Australia

One of the most controversial art projects to hit metro Melbourne in recent years, the hardwood canine sculpture that sits at Fairfield Railway Station is now a fixture.

Where to stay: InterContinental Hotel Melbourne The Rialto

Melbourne City Guide

The Big Slide Rule
University of Tasmania School of Mathematics and Physics, Hobart, Tasmania

Before the Museum of Old and New Art there was the Big Slide Rule at U of T.

Where to stay: Islington Hotel Hobart

Hobart City Guide

The Big Orange
Berri, Riverland, South Australia

The Big Orange in Berri is notable for a couple of reasons. First, as the foremost sphere, for a time, south of the equator and two, as the only Big Thing in Australia to operate a commercial establishment. Be sure to climb to the obervation lookout on the top floor.

Where to stay: Comfort Inn Citrus Valley Renmark

Adelaide City Guide

The Big Lobster
Kingston, South Australia

One of the most recognisable Big Things in the country, the Big Lobster easily claws into any South Australia road trip itinerary.

Where to stay: Econo Lodge Kingston

Kingston Guide

The Big Pineapple
Woombye, Queensland

A staple tourist target of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, the Big Pineapple sits on a bona fide farm and zoo.

Where to stay: RACV Noosa Resort

Sunshine Coast Guide

The Golden Gumboot
Tully, Queensland

No symbol is more apropos in the rainy Wet Tropics of Queensland than the Golden Gumboot, one of many photo-ops on the Cassowary Coast.

Where to stay: Castaways Resort & Spa Mission Beach

Cairns City Guide

The Big Boxing Crocodile
Humpty Doo, Northern Territory

A pugilist reptile seems to suit a place with a name like Humpty Doo.

Where to stay: Mantra on the Esplanade Darwin

Darwin City Guide

The Big Merino
Goulburn, New South Wales

Some 200 km southwest of Sydney, the Southern Tablelands city of Goulburn has a winner in “Rambo”, the Big Merino Ram.

Where to stay: Best Western Centretown Motel Goulburn

Goulburn City Guide

The Big Banana
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales

One of the first and most famous Big Things, the Big Banana punctuates the World of Bananas plantation tour in beautiful Coffs Harbour.

Where to stay: Smugglers On The Beach Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour City Guide