Big Banana

Australia is home to more than just a couple of big things. The big country, it has been said, has a love of similarly-oversized objects. The Big Banana is only one of a loosely related set of about 150 sculptures and large structures sprinkled across the country. Most of these, the Big Banana included, serve as some of the country’s top tourist traps and can be found along major roads and highways or between prominent travel destinations.

Sometimes claimed to be the first big thing in Australia, the Big Banana was built just north Coffs Harbour on the Pacific Highway in 1964. Measuring more than 13 meters long and five meters across, the Big Banana supports an entire tourist complex, including a banana-themed souvenir shop, ice skating, an indoor ski slope, and tours of the surrounding plantation.

Modeled on a prize-winning banana, this structure is one of the most photographed objects in all of Australia. “At any time of the day,” one tourism website proclaims, “cameras are clicking away - individuals, couples, honeymooners, small groups, families, whole coach loads of people - all recording their visit to the Big Banana.”