Talk:Big things (Australia)

Image

I was tempted to put Image:Kapuna1.JPG in the article but it was a fair use image. Dont suppose it could be used here? -- Astrokey44|talk 09:48, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

I have a good picture of the big whale at Eucla with just the whale infront of the 'Eucla' sign and no-one posing in the picture, however I am newly registered and wikipedia won't let me upload it. it is 1600 x 1200 and 244kb. Any help in getting it on the page? Jarrod Walkabout (talk) 18:29, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

You can submit it to Wikipedia:Files for upload, but it could take some time to go through. Probably your best option is to upload it to Wikimedia Commons – you can log in with the same username and password you use for Wikipedia, and you can upload your image straight away (there's some simple instructions here). Then you can add it to this article with [[File:filename|thumb]]. Hope that helps. DoctorKubla (talk) 09:43, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

Thanks Doc. I did just that. Jarrod Walkabout (talk) 13:55, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

Deletion

I deleted the big yabbie as the big prawn is the same thing. (and the correct name) MrStaypuft|talk

Proposed Merger

I recently came across a list of Big Things at Big Banana. I believe that this list should be removed and any of Big things that are not listed at Australia's Big Things should be included there. A link to Australia's Big Things on the Big Banana page should be sufficient.
What do other people think? Blarneytherinosaur 01:35, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Good idea, I have merged that info into this article -- Astrokey44|talk 02:38, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

That was quick. Thanks! Blarneytherinosaur 03:45, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Ploddy

I dont think Ploddy the diplodocus [1] should be mentioned as being the first big thing. surely the Big Banana was the one which started the whole thing going. Of course there were going to be some large things around before that -- Astrokey44|talk 14:22, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

Well depends on whether you want to list the first big thing or whether you want to list the first well known one. The definition of what makes a big thing is always going to be rather fluid. Ploddy qualifies for me as it is a roadside attraction, is a destination, and is linked to a site (the reptile park). The big banana does too, and came later. That the banana is more well known is surely a question of marketing. If someone knows of an even earlier big thing, then by all means that should be listed as the earliest one, but I think for the moment Ploddy takes the crown. Zipededoo 23:33, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Correctly me if I'm wrong, but I thought the whole idea of "big things" is that they are ridiculously large compared to their size in real life. 'Ploddy' is simply a life-size model of a Diplodocus dinosaur; life-size things along roadsides (perhaps not dinosaurs) have been around in Australia a lot longer. -Zamphuor 13:27, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

In that case you'd need to remove the 'big Ayers Rock' as it is much smaller than it's IRL counterpart. 1dragon (talk) 00:42, 27 March 2022 (UTC)

The first Big Thing

"The first Big Thing is usually held to be the Big Banana..."

I thought it was the Big Bang?

(Sorry.) --Denzilq 20:26, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Hadn't realized it happened in Australia... Vaughan Pratt (talk) 02:53, 4 October 2024 (UTC)

Inclusion/mention

Perhaps a mention of the fact that New Zealand also has a number of big things? While NZ is not a part of Australia, it is probably due the influence of Australia and our big things that the NZ ones came about. There's a big carrot, a big sheep and a big sheepdog that I'm aware of. 59.100.188.50 04:47, 20 January 2007 (UTC)Gert

And a big Kiwi fruit —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.180.81.254 (talk) 09:34, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Page has been created at New Zealand's big things. Have set up two sections - North and South Islands - and added one big thing to each that I am aware of (Salmon and Kiwi Fruit), so Big Things disciples go out and do your bit :-) 203.214.94.91 (talk) 12:38, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Great article

Another indication of the breadth and quality of Wikipedia's coverage. Keep up the good work. Johntex\^talk 19:15, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Repeats?

I was looking at this article, as The Big Orange was mentioned on the home page, and I saw that there were some doubles, mainly the Big Pineapple and The Big Pineapple which are adjacent to each other but are located in different towns and have slightly different pictures. Also, there is a Big Orange and The Big Orange which are located in different sections of Australia and in the pictures seem to be different colours. I've never been to Australia, so I don't know if there are actually doubles, but if there aren't please delete the extras. Thanks! Helixer (talk) 19:28, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Yes there are several 'Big Oranges' in Australia (4 that I am aware of) and given the nature of Big Things, no single one can lay claim to being the true Big Orange 203.214.94.91 (talk) 12:36, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

"The Big Pineapple" and "big pineapple" are two large pineapples, "The Big Pineapple" is the larger of the two. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.25.16.174 (talk) 23:49, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Is the Big Gun in this same category.

I'm not sure, (and not bothered either way) if the Big Gun should be included in this list. All of the other entries are big versions of small things, such as bananas and insects, but the Big Gun is just that, a big gun or cannon. I won't take it out, but wonder if it should be discussed. One argument in its favour is that like all the others, it is intended as a roadside marker for a business. Thoughts anyone ??--Dmol (talk) 22:23, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Big Giraffe, Dubbo

Hi! While tracking down information on the Big Prawn, I noticed that one newspaper made passing mention of the Big Giraffe in Dubbo. I've never heard of it before, which is a tad unusual, so I don't feel ready to add it based on that source. However, I was wondering if anyone could confirm whether it existed or not? (Or, indeed, still exists?). - Bilby (talk) 04:32, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I love seeing things like "Big Giraffe" pop up on my watchlist :-) I guess it is a little bit of original research to ask if someone in Dubbo knows about this giraffe, but it would be good to know. Nothing on google it seems but on Factiva I found two newspaper articles so I think it is ok to add the Big Giraffe to the article:

• "The post-recession plan for Atilla and Louis Mokany, the men the world has to thank for three bigs - the merino, the dowdy oyster and the glamorous prawn, is to build a Big Giraffe at Dubbo." (1991, SMH)
• "...the Big Prawn has artistic value. The 14m structure was designed in 1989 by sculptor James Martin, who modelled it on a tiger prawn he bought at a Ballina fish and chip shop. Unlike the Elgin Marbles, the country of origin is unlikely to want it back. Its original owners also built the Big Oyster at Taree, the Big Ram at Goulburn and the Big Giraffe at Dubbo before going bust in big business" (2000, Sun Herald)

If anything I think these quotes have some facts for the article. I can get the full references for the article or email the full articles if anyone asks.--Commander Keane (talk) 05:03, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Two references is enough to have some faith - thanks. :) I assumed it was to do with the zoo there, as I'm told it has a successful giraffe breeding programme. Now I need to add Dubbo to my list of places to visit. - Bilby (talk) 05:13, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

Hold your (big) horses there gentlemen - my gut feel on this one is that the second article is a bit of lazy journalism, the author referencing the first article without validating the facts. I've been to Dubbo and never saw nor heard of the Big Giraffe; furthermore the "Bible Of Big Things" (i.e. David Clark's excellent book) makes no mention of such a construction. Let's hold fire until we got some more recent and solid confirmation of the existence of this Big Thing. Still, don't let me put you off going to Dubbo Bilby - the zoo is a great day out and you can always press on further west to Cobar and the Big Beer Can! BrisbanePom (talk) 12:54, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I have to head out that way anyhow - if the rumours of the Big Prawn's forthcoming demise are true, I need to make sure I see it before it goes. :) So a trip out that way would knock off a few of the ones I've missed. I've found that Clark tends to be good on the major big things, but some of the minor ones are missed - we probably have the most comprehensive list here, now, but even here new big things keep appearing, and some minor ones get added every so often. That said, no harm in looking for more evidence. The lack of photos online is a bad sign.

I gather there is a baby giraffe statue in Dubbo, but that would make it merely a life-sized thing. - Bilby (talk) 13:02, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

File:Big Potato in Robertson, NSW.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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Big Flying Saucer / UFO / Spaceship, Ceduna(?) area

I was talking to some people involved in organising a party for the last full solar eclipse visible in Australia, a few years back. They told me they hung out at a particular pub a lot whilst setting up before & clearing up after. They were on good terms with the landlady, & when they left they offered her a giant flying saucer which had been made for, or at least used at, the party. She said yes, as a souvenir of the fun the whole event had brought to a usually very quiet place. They positioned it to her instructions, outside the pub, where she could could see it from behind the bar.

I know there were two events organised for the eclipse, one a more grown up affair, near or at Ceduna, SA, & the other the sort that might require a big flying saucer, further inland. It's the latter that the people I was talking to were involved in organising.

I can't find any mention of it anywhere. Does anyone know if it's still around, & if so where?

HuwG 203.208.123.81 (talk) 07:45, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

The giant beer bottle at Lansvale

One of the oldest big things was a giant beer bottle standing next to a pub by the Hume Highway between Lansvale and Warwick Farm. This beer bottle was older than the big banana. The pub isn't there any more.Eregli bob (talk) 08:12, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

I don't recall ever seeing that.....? Casliber (talk · contribs) 09:40, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Big Things

It looks to me like these things are generally referred to as "Big Things" (caps), not "big things" (lowercase), presumably to differentiate them from other big things. Shouldn't this article's title be similarly capitalised? DoctorKubla (talk) 20:25, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Removed Big Things

As someone who's seen maybe 2/5s of these things, there's a few that aren't there anymore. In particular, the Big Poo at Kiama NSW, Big Smoke at Myrtleford VIC, and Big Yabbie at Clayton SA - I visited these places at some point in the last year and they weren't there. I can say at least that they weren't there at the time. I'm not sure what the WP policy is for removal of these things, but I doubt you're going to find citations to their removal, and it's not really the best to direct people to things that don't exist anymore ... perhaps a removed things section? Sabretoof (talk) 03:12, 12 October 2013 (UTC)

I agree that if something is removed, that should be mentioned in the notes as it has to do with the history of the object. But we are not a travel guide so that should not be the reason. Another section would be a bit unwieldy. I suggest notes only. --Dmol (talk) 03:43, 12 October 2013 (UTC)

I can definitely see the merits of keeping the information here, but I'd say whether the item is still there is more significant information to categorise on than the state, which is a rather arbitrary categorisation in this context. Sabretoof (talk) 04:33, 12 October 2013 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: NOT MOVED non-admin closure due to consensus below. Tiggerjay (talk) 19:34, 31 December 2012 (UTC) Tiggerjay (talk) 19:34, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

---

Australia's big things → Australia's Big Things – As per my above comment, these items are usually referred to in the media as "Big Things", capitalised. I'm treating this as a potentially controversial move, though, because the article title was uncapitalised in a previous page move, so there's obviously no clear consensus on this issue. DoctorKubla (talk) 10:39, 23 December 2012 (UTC)

• Oppose – although caps for emphasis is common, per MOS:CAPS we don't do that here. Some other sources do this in different ways, such as with quote marks as in this book. Or plain as in this book or this or this. Dicklyon (talk) 19:37, 28 December 2012 (UTC)
• Not too fussed but leaning oppose per above sources. I don't think anyone has made it a proper name or name for a Group....Casliber (talk · contribs) 20:12, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

Well, I can give you just as many sources that do use caps – [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], not to mention the book upon which most of this article is based. DoctorKubla (talk) 21:52, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Big Prawn - Central Coast NSW

There is also a Big Prawn on the Central Coast of NSW, built around 1991. It was in the news a lot last year (2013) as it was one of the only things left standing after bushfires swept through the area: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/the-big-prawn-a-quirky-central-coast-icon-survives-bushfire-that-destroyed-all-around-it/story-fngr8h0p-1226742333931 http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/big-prawn-owner-ken-silverside-prepares-to-rebuild-after-fires-destroy-business/story-fni0cx12-1226743441093 http://www.nbnnews.com.au/index.php/2013/10/18/big-prawn-destroyed-by-fire/ (The Big Prawn roadhouse was destroyed by fire, not the actual "big prawn") Swampy 139.168.132.147 (talk) 12:05, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

Big Apple - Yerrinbool

That apple is not big! It barely qualifies as large. It's got to go... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.69.22.12 (talk) 22:24, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

In a similar vein, the 'Big Banana' is only big because the writing on it says it's Big. Yes, it was one of the first to be built, but I was most disappointed with travelling to see it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.192.208.66 (talk) 01:53, 23 July 2018 (UTC)

I would argue that both are bigger than the real thing and therefore qualify, even if some may find them less impressive than they expected. Mike (talk) 08:01, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

Big Thermometer

Someone needs to add in Stanhope's Big Thermometer. Editing tables is tricky, so I'm not going to try. http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/size-matters-as-stanthorpe-invites-tourists-to-snap-australias-next-big-thing/528190 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 106.69.218.221 (talk) 02:49, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

 Done: [8] Mitch Ames (talk) 03:24, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

Woombye. Nambour.

There are 2 Big Pineapples (in Qld) for 1971. Is that correct?

The Big Pineapple featured on the stamp (in the “In popular culture” Section), is cited as being at Nambour. But only Woombye is cited in the list. My Australian Almanac 2004 says Nambour. Did Nambour shrink (by 6km)? MBG02 (talk) 09:06, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

@MBG02: The Big Pineapple is definitely not in the town of Nambour but in the locality of Woombye, 5.5km south of Nambour. But I would imagine that Woombye (pop 2000) is not a particularly well-known place, that's probably why some people choose to describe the Big Pineapple as being in Nambour (pop 11000) being a much larger town and likely to be better known. Kerry (talk) 14:40, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

@Kerry Raymond: Do you know if the Gympie and Woombye Pineapples were both created in 1971? MBG02 (talk) 15:39, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

@MBG02:Yes, they were. See The Big Pineapple for the opening dates of both. Kerry (talk) 19:37, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

Big Melon

Please add. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/australia-big-melon-intl/index.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.159.157.114 (talk) 22:12, 14 November 2018 (UTC)

Big Mouse, Pokolbin - ineligible?

Recently "Smelly", the Big Mouse (Pokolbin) has been added. I don't think that it qualifies as an Australian "big thing" statue, but wanted to check if others agreed before reverting the edit? Thank you. SunnyBoi (talk) 23:57, 3 November 2018 (UTC)

@SunnyBoi: I agree. When you look at the lede para of the article which describes (loosely) what we mean by "big things", I don't see it fits. It's not particularly big, nor is it a landmark or something I think tourists would stop and photograph. It's really just a small advertising sign. Kerry (talk) 00:13, 4 November 2018 (UTC)

@Kerry Raymond: Thanks, I appreciate your feedback as I was unsure, I have manually removed the listing - undoing seemed to not be working with other revisions. Cheers! SunnyBoi (talk) 09:58, 4 November 2018 (UTC)

Big things looking a bit, well, small

Currently the photos are custom sized to 100 pixels wide, which makes them rather hard to see (at least to my elderly eyes). So I experimented with making the 200px wide. Compare the pair 100 pixels vs 200 pixels. What do you think? Kerry (talk) 01:31, 24 November 2018 (UTC)

• Before anyone goes ballistic and tediously replaces every 200px with 100px and then screams at me for MAKING SO MUCH WORK FOR OTHER PEOPLE, can I point out that this is trivially changed back to 100px with an undo or trivally changed to any other agreed size with a single search-and-replace (if done carefully). However, let's have a discussion rather than an edit war. Kerry (talk) 01:31, 24 November 2018 (UTC)
  • Big improvement. The Drover's Wife (talk) 01:41, 24 November 2018 (UTC)

Photo of the Public Purse in Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne

The Public Purse, Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne, November 2014

Can someone please take a photo of the Public Purse in Bourke Street Mall that illustrates the size of the sculpture by including something (e.g. a person) to give it some sense of scale? The current photo does not convey any sense of scale. Thanks Kerry (talk) 22:56, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

This is not remotely a big thing - it's just a small street sculpture not much bigger than a seat. The stretching of definition of "big things" is getting a bit out of hand here. The Drover's Wife (talk) 02:46, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

Big Thongs in Calen QLD

Just unveiled. Worthy of inclusion? Your feelgood story of the day. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.209.164.154 (talk) 00:27, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Done already. Mitch Ames (talk) 00:42, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

References

Suggestion for inclusion - Banana, QLD

There’s a traffic island shaped like a giant banana in the middle of Banana, Queensland. It was reported widely in the media last year. The mayor was reportedly in touch with Queensland state government about getting it painted yellow (also a traffic safety colour). I wondered whether it might qualify for this list? Tastronaut (talk) 00:04, 3 April 2022 (UTC)

Big Shell

sadly, the Big Shell at Tawanton has been removed. CWWrites (talk) 23:31, 28 April 2023 (UTC)

Lower bound

‘between 1 and 600 such objects’? Huh? Can we get a better lower bound than this? TomFryers (talk) 11:02, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

The Big Knight

The Big Knight in Knockrow, NSW has been removed and was sent to Coffs Harbour. See: https://www.9news.com.au/national/byron-bay-macadamia-castle-transforms-into-animal-sanctuary-tourist-attraction-knight-statue-moving/8f537055-09d5-4aab-8454-1817542f0b02

The Macadamia Castle is now the Byron Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Does this mean it should be removed from the list? Aliceinthealice (talk) 08:54, 2 April 2024 (UTC)

I have now said that this has been removed on the main page and added the above article as a citation Aliceinthealice (talk) 05:35, 1 May 2024 (UTC)