This oversized tropical fruit, in all its crowning glory, received a royal seal of approval in 1983, when Princess Diana and Prince Charles stopped by to marvel at its fibreglass fronds. And how could they not? It’s the pièce de résistance of Australia’s big fruit salad, so significant that it and the Pineapple Train, which circles the property’s plantation, have been added to the Queensland Heritage Register. Though The Big Pineapple doesn’t get the million-plus visitors a year that it did 
in the big things’ heyday of the 1980s, there are plans to modernise the Sunshine Coast site and add new attractions for 2025. In the meantime, there’s The Big Pineapple Music Festival, held each May, drawing Australian music heavyweights including Birds of Tokyo and Vera Blue.

In early 2017, Larry the Lobster went 
under the knife – it seems even insentient beings feel the pressure to look their best on social media. He got the full gamut, including a thorough scrub, a new set of feelers and structural repairs. Even if you haven’t been to the Limestone Coast, there’s a chance you’ve heard of the four-tonne shellfish, as comedians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee attempted to help fund a refurbishment with their #PinchAMate campaign in 2016. A trip 
to see Larry is all about the photograph – he is, after all, one of the country’s biggest big things. 

If a family drives through the Mid-North Coast and doesn’t pull over for a photo in front of The Big Banana, is it even a holiday? A pit stop at this iconic piece of fruit has been a must-do for Pacific Highway travellers ever since 
the 13-metre-long ‘nana came to be in the ‘60s. It’s modelled on the shapeliest banana that engineer Alan Chapman could find as he mocked up the plans. 
At the time, there was nothing at the 
site but a plantation filled with The Big Banana’s smaller siblings but as the 
years progressed, a milk bar serving frothy banana shakes became part of 
the attraction. Then came a toboggan track and later, a water park, laser-tag arena and minigolf course.

What do you call a 100-tonne ram? Rambo, of course. Positioned near a 
Hume Highway exit in the Southern Highlands and built in 1985, Rambo surveys the surrounding farmland – 
and nearby fast-food outlets – with 
a pensive look. In 2007, The Big Merino was moved a few hundred metres up the road to better capture the attention of passing traffic. He received three new legs and a new belly, plus you can now go inside to see 
an exhibition on the Australian wool industry. Every now and then, Rambo gets dressed up, such as in 2015 when 
he was given glowing green eyes as 
part of a clean-energy promotion 
(the result was a curiously radioactive-looking sheep). During 2014’s Blue September, held to raise awareness 
of men’s cancers, including testicular cancer, the corresponding appendage was painted royal blue.

It’s not the first place you’d expect to see a van Gogh but the Central Highlands has a huge replica of one of his Sunflowers paintings, erected in honour of the region’s sunflower growers.

This drupe was the subject of a scandal in 2014 when
it went missing from the Whitsundays town. It was later revealed to be a PR stunt for a new sauce at a fast-food restaurant.

Not to be confused with 
The Big Merino, this all-white ram lives in Wetlands Park in the Great Southern region. He’s four metres smaller than the Merino and weighs four tonnes. 

It doesn’t get more Aussie than this: a six-metre-tall bloke with a Southern Cross tattoo, Esky and fishing rod giving passers-by a friendly thumbs up as they drive through Bogan Shire.