Big Tennis Racquet - Milton

This Tennis Racquet was found via a tip off from Debbie (an awesome Big Things enthusiast!) thanks Debbie!  You can find this Big Tennis Racquet yourself sitting (not so subtly) in front of Frew Park, in Milton.  It has a fun backstory, which you can read here but in quick summary, Stefan (Brisbane business guru) was a sponsor of the Queensland Open which lead to him buying the tennis racquet as a tourist attraction for the now demolished Milton Tennis Centre, on Frew Park's grounds.  Stefan had taken a visit to New York and seen various Big Things but no tennis racquet and thus the idea was born.  The tennis racquet, completely made of steel, was built by Patrick Gay Constructions and is quoted in the article at being 10metres in size but I I believe more on the 7metres long, 2.25 high spectrum :P.  Another article here, quotes it at 8 metres - so it seems there are quite a few people like myself who just make up figures :P

In other interesting news (to me anyway) a quick google showed how the racquet looked previously where you can see wire strings as part of the original design.  The racket had since undertaken a $13,000 face lift to ensure it was safe for it's new unveiling alongside the parks refurbishment in 2014.  It seems the strings were deemed unsafe (a crying shame!) but then it was also kind of fun to sit in the middle of it for the photo, kindly taken by my friend Emaya - thanks Emaya :)

DETAILS
Size: 7m x 2.25m (or perhaps 8 or 10m!)
Year: Before 2000 (vague I know!) at the now demolished Milton Tennis Centre (for the Queensland Open) and then relocated to the front of the park in 2014.
Address: Frew Park, 315 Milton Road, Milton, Qld.  I ended up parking in a nearby side street (Eagle tce) and then having my photo taken from across the super busy Milton Road, although there seemed to be access via the back of the park using Frew Road and also an awesome looking playground if you have kids, or if you just really into playgrounds :)  
Photo Taken: 2015

SCORE 
Size ****
Accessibility *** 
Aesthetics **
Unusual *
Location * 
11/25 stars

Big Frog - Laidley

The Big Frog lives at Laidley Landscaping Supplies, no need to enter the business it's super easy to get a photo from outside - you won't be able to miss him and his dapper top hat!

DETAILS
Size: 4m length x 2.5m  height
Address: Laidley Landscaping Supples, 31 laidley-plainland Road, Laidley, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2014 

SCORE 
Size ** 
Accessibility*
Aesthetics ***
Unusual **
Location * 
9/25 stars

Big Orange – Gayndah

You’ll spot this guy as you drive into Gayndah: the self-proclaimed orange capital of Queensland. The Big Orange overlooks a citrus farm and has an adjacent building where you can grab a bite to eat. I was hell bent on getting an orange juice from the Big Orange but was devastatingly told they were too busy to make any that day. So be warned if you find yourself there on a Saturday they may be too busy for OJ making but not too busy to make a milkshake and burger, both of which I rated a pleasant 6.5/10 

DETAILS
Size: 4m x 4m 
Year: 1977 
Address: As you enter Gayndah via the Burnett Highway, QLD. (impossible to miss!)
Photo Taken: 2012

SCORE
Size ** 
Accessibility ***** 
Aesthetics ** 
Unusual * 
Location ***** 
13/25 stars

Big Mandarine – Munduberra

Currently in use as the office for the ‘Citrus Country Caravan Park’ clever name :P The whole park is very open allowing you to get nice and close for your snap, you can either pull up along the front or around the back (Anne St.) 

DETAILS
Size: 5m x 6m 
Year: 1983 
Address: Citrus Country Caravan Park, access Via Munduberra-Durong Rd and Anne Street, Munduberra, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012

SCORE
Size *** 
Accessibility **** 
Aesthetics *** 
Unusual * 
Location * 
13/25 stars

Big Kangaroo – Kybong

Created for the opening ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Matilda ended up outside the Gold Coast waterpark, Wet n’ Wild, before calling Kybong her home in 2011. Goldie to Kybong is a lengthy trip for a 13m Kangaroo, the Matilda Fuel chain, originally wanted to put her at their Gold Coast station but council rejected the submission due to its commercial properties. She seems happy at kybong surrounded by a serene lake, although slightly hidden at the back of the roadhouse. Perhaps slightly sad for a starlet, no longer receiving the level of fame she’d been use to! When I took the photo back in 2012 she winked! I've since been back (2015) and I can say after starring at her face for far too that she didn't give me her iconic wink :( Perhaps this is a feature they turn on and off?!?

DETAILS
Size: 13m 
Year: 1982 
Address: Matilda Fuel’s Kybong Service Centre, Bruce Hwy (South of Gympie) QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012

SCORE
Size **** 
Accessibility *** 
Aesthetics **** 
Unusual **** 
Location **** 
19/25 stars

Big Reel – Gympie

UPDATE: (04/22) The Reel is no longer here! Thanks to reader Anne for letting me know this location is now a pool shop and the reel is gone.

I think it would be cruel of me to say this Big Reel in Gympie isn’t a big thing because it is big it just lacks that special-ness! It’s also very commercial and commercial big things tend to always be low scorers! 

DETAILS
Size: 1m x 1m 
Address: ‘Fishermans Warehouse’ 175 Brisbane Rd, Gympie QLD 4570 
Photo Taken: 2013 

SCORE
Size * 
Accessibility * 
Aesthetics * 
Unusual * 
Location * 
5/25 stars

Big Beer – Apple Tree Creek

UPDATE: 12/11/15 Thanks to our reader Jewels, we now know that this Big thing (unfortunately!) no longer exists. 

We stopped outside this pub when I yelled “pull over” on our way from the Bundaberg Airport back to Biggeden (surprisingly there are no Big Things in Biggeden). I’m not sure this xxxx beer bottle is documented too well on the net and I’m afraid I didn’t document it or its location very well either. I can tell you that we did get some amusing banter from the pub locals plus a few stares! 

DETAILS
Size: 3.5m 
Address: Bruce Hwy, Apple Tree Creek (north of Childers)QLD.
Photo Taken: 2011 

SCORE
Size ** 
Accessibility *** 
Aesthetics *** 
Unusual * 
Location * 
10/25 stars

Big Ned Kelly – Maryborough

When crossing off your Big Things list as you travel up/down the Bruce Hwy you’re going to have to detour slightly when it comes to Big Ned Kelly (found on the road to Maryborough). It’s not that much of a detour and well worth it in my humble opinion. He’s an easy find too, standing tall outside the Ned Kelly Motel/ petrol station. My boyfriend asked the servo lady, why a Ned Kelly statue wound up in Maryborough and was told (local legend) that Ned stopped in to visit rellies on his travels. Mmmm, not sure about that one :P 

DETAILS
Size: 8m x 2m 
Address: 148 Gympie Road, Maryborough, QLD. (the road that heads into Maryborough from the Bruce Hwy) 
Photo Taken : 2012

SCORE
Size **** 
Accessibility *** 
Aesthetics **** 
Unusual **** 
Location * 
16/25 stars

Big Kinka Whale – Kinka Beach

You need to take an hour detour from the Bruce Hwy to see this beast but I think he’s definitely worth it. Well, worth it to me, as the Kinka Whale is a rather rare Big Thing which sits outside the now abandoned Marineland (I also have a soft spot for abandoned places) Unfortunately someone had spray painted a penis just below the poor whale’s eye, really, people, respect the Big Things! We peered inside the whale’s mouth, aka a clever use of windows/ doors and saw lots of jars of specimens; it was all rather odd and cool and made me fall in love with the Kinka even more! 

DETAILS
Size: 6m x 12m 
Address: ‘Coral life Marineland’ (now abandoned) 1059 Scenic Highway, Kinka Beach, QLD. South from Kinka Beach, before Emu Park. 
Photo Taken: 2012 
Built By:Kevin Logan

SCORE
Size **** 
Accessibility *** 
Aesthetics **** 
Unusual ***** 
Location *** 
17/25 stars

Big Barrel – Bundaberg

This thing is big, like really big but I also think it’s not that impressive as essentially it’s just a building, a clever designed building but still a building. Am I’m being harsh? You can check out it's spin-off over in Maleny if you really love barrels - I promise not to judge!

DETAILS
Size: 25m x 10m 
Year: 2005 
Address: ‘Bundaberg Soft Drink Company’ 147 bargara Rd, Bundaberg, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012

SCORE
Size ***** 
Accessibility ***** 
Aesthetics * 
Unusual Location ** 
13/25 stars

Big Bundy (Rum Bottle) – Bundaberg

I secretly or not so secretly think the Haigslea Bundy Bottle trumps this one, or perhaps I just took a better picture of that one :P The Bundaberg, Bottle has quite a bit of hype surrounding it and I sort of feel it didn’t live up to it, sorry Bundy! 

DETAILS
Size: 6m 
Year: 1988 
Address: ’Bundaberg Distilling Company’ Whittred Street, Bundaberg East via Bundaberg-Bargara Rd. 
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size *** 
Accessibility *** 
Aesthetics ** 
Unusual 
Location * 
9/25 stars

Not really a ‘Big Things’ Big Turtle – Bargara

I must admit I felt totally jibbed when I saw this Big Turtle because well, it’s a playground. Bargara is the town over from Bundaberg, so once you have taken snaps of the Barrel and the Bundy Bottle please feel free to skip the turtle, unless you like me, have the need to photograph every potential big thing! 

DETAILS
Address: Bargara Foreshore Turtle Playground. Travel east through Bundaberg via Bundaberg-Bargara road, towards the coastline to Bargara. Hard to miss the turtle playground once you can reach the water. 
Photo Taken: 2012

Big Crab – Miriam Vale

What can I say it’s a crab on a service station, can we get any more boring? Created by Lex Milner the owner at the time wanting to promote his crab sandwiches which for me, helps to redeem the crab - just slightly :P

DETAILS
Size:2m 
Year: 1979 
Address: Shell Service Station, Bruce Hwy, Miriam Vale, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size * 
Accessibility 
Aesthetics ** 
Unusual 
Location 
3/25 stars

Not So Big Bulls – Rockhampton (Stockmans Corner Shop)

There are heaps of these guys located all around Rocky, no address required just your eyes peeled. I only took one picture because they’re normal sized bulls! I’m not sure who started the ‘Big Thing’ bull rumour and hopefully I’m not spreading it further :P I hereby remove all Rockhampton bulls from the Big Things of OZ, Big list! As for a funny fact, the Rockhampton council after constantly having to re-ball the bulls (testicles being a favourite amongst thieves) eventually resorted to bolting them down using metal rods, ouch! 

DETAILS
Address: All around the township of Rockhampton, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012

Big Dugong – Rockhampton

This guy had me perplexed for ages, is he at the University? Is he at the Dreamtime Centre? Is he somewhere else? Once I had him narrowed down to the Dreamtime Centre, thanks guy on Flickr! I soon realized you had to pay entry to go and see him. I can’t tell you, whether or not he is worth the admission fee, though he is all sorts of coolness. One of the reasons the Big Things hunt is so fun is because the Big Things are free and accessible and this guy unfortunately isn’t. If you do decide to see him make sure you plan your trip to arrive in Rockhampton during the Centre’s opening hours, from memory they are rather random. 

DETAILS
Size: 22m x 12m 
Year: 1992 
Address: ‘Dreamtime Cultural Centre’, Bruce Hwy, opp. Yeepoon Exit, Rockhampton, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size ***** 
Accessibility (no stars due to admission fee) 
Aesthetics **** 
Unusual ***** 
Location ** 
20/25 stars

Big Cane Toad – Sarina

Built out of Paper Mache in 1983, for a float in the Apex Sugar Festival Parade, the Sarina council eventually cast the Big Toad in fiberglass to become a permanent fixture in the town’s centre. He is one of the ugliest Big Things I’ve come across both in aesthetics and subject matter but that’s what gives the Big Toad amazing appeal, well to me anyway! Oh and you can call him “Buffy”, short for the cane toad’s scientific name ‘Bufo Marinus’. 

DETAILS
Size: 1m x 1m
Year: 1983
Address: Broad Street, Sarina Town Centre
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size *
Accessibility ***
Aesthetics ****
Unusual *****
Location
13/25 stars

Big Mango – Bowen

Even though the Big Mango is iconic to Bowen it’s actually found 4kms outside the town in Mount Gordon at the Bowen Tourist Info Centre. I applaud the genius behind this as Bowen is one of those towns you need to exit off the Bruce Hwy to visit, whilst the Big Mango is smack bang on the Hwy. I mistakenly thought I’d need to go into the township to see the big Mango and soon realized why having an iconic big thing could only help this rather unmemorable town. So the mango finds itself in a spot that tourists are actually going to drive past, hopefully stop at and hopefully check out the Visitor Centre and from there be allured back to Bowen - clever!

DETAILS
Size: 10m x 8m 
Year: 2002 
Address: ‘Bowen’s Visitor Centre’ Bruce Hwy, Mount Gordon, 4kms south of Bowen’s Township, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size **** 
Accessibility* 
Aesthetics **** 
Unusual * 
Location **** 
15/25 stars

UPDATE as of the 24/02/2014 the Big Mango is officially missing after being stolen – more info here *gasp*

UPDATE 25/02/2014 Mango has been found turns out it was simply a publicity stunt by fast food chain Nandos – read more here

Big Snake – Ayre

This big snake really is big, 60 metres big! A worthwhile spot especially if you’re in need of a rest room.

Below is an excerpt from the information board...

"Gubulla Munda (Carpet Snake) is the Aboriginal Totem and the protective Spirit for the Biri Gubba people. Its construction on this site is for the honouring of the sacred burial site where many Aboriginal ancestors are buried. This monument was designed, constructed and sculpted by the artist Dr Farvadin Daliri OAM and painted by many Aboriginal artists. The Dreaming comes from the high power of Younga Yalga (Mother Earth) Gubulla Munda who travelled through the waters up to the land and rested. The perspiration of Gubulla Munda formed hills and mountains, rivers and streams. Later she travelled back down into the water and as she moved through the water, her dropping formed the islands"

DETAILS
Size: 60 metres
Address: Plantation Park, Bruce Hwy as you travel through the small town of Ayre, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size ***** 
Accessibility**** 
Aesthetics *** 
Unusual ** 
Location *** 
17/25 stars

Big Watermelon – Gumlu

The only research I found on this Watermelon was that it was in Townsville. After already asking many locals about the Brolga and feeling rather Big Things defeated I gave up on the idea of ever finding a Big Watermelon.  Obviously this story has a happy ending and as luck would have it, seemingly out of nowhere, I spied a watermelon sitting in what I can only assume was someone’s property. A quick car pull-over and some (very!) happy snaps later, I was big things feated! I tried to work out where exactly we were, my scribbled notes on the day recorded Gumlu and my car’s odo metre told us we were 65kms north of Bowen, I hope that info can helps other Melon hunters! 

DETAILS
Size: 4m x 2m
Address: Bruce Hwy. Gumlu, QLD (closest town) 65kms to Bowen.  Spotted heading south of Townsville.
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size **
Accessibility *****
Aesthetics ***
Unusual *
Location ***
14/25 stars

Big Brolga – Townsville

We found ourselves at the central Townsville tourist Centre with no Brolga in sight, turns out there’s two Tourist centers, so make sure you find yourself at the Southern one if you're hunting the elusive Big brolga. We ended up asking lots of locals in our search, one guy leading us down a rather empty sports ground *crickets chirping*.
 
DETAILS
Size: 4m
Year: 1988
Address: ‘Townsville Southern Highway Visitor Information Centre’, Bruce Hwy, Townsville, QLD.
Photo Taken: 2012 

SCORE
Size ** 
Accessibility *** 
Aesthetics *** 
Unusual *** 
Location *** 
14/25 stars