I'm kind of perplexed by Australia's fascination with building
big things and turning them into tourist attractions. I mean it's
not as if they are short of big natural attractions. They have the
GREAT barrier reef, Uluru the GIANT rock and Fraser Island the
world's LARGEST sand island.
This 'bigger is better' mentality seems to have spread across
the country and there are now over 200 different Big Things
scattered across Australian towns. They are normally man made
structures and sculptures standing proudly at the entrance of an
attraction or business. The very first Big Thing was The 'Big
Banana' in 1964 and just beginning with the letter A there is: The
Big Ant, The Big Avocado, The Big Apple, The Big Axe.
With 27% of the vote The Big Pineapple was the big thing I had
to visit, which for years has sat roadside on a pineapple
plantation at Woombye near Nambour, Qld. It's a 16 metre high
fibreglass pineapple, which contains displays all about pineapples.
The famed Big Pineapple even hosted Prince Charles and Princess
Diana when they visited Australia in 1983.
When I arrived I found the Big Pineapple had just received a
fresh lick of paint (edible I hope) but the stairwell inside was
closed for refurbishment. To celebrate the pineapple I bought one
at the next town for just 79 cents. Two doors down I found I'd been
ripped off as they were selling them for just 59 cents, making this
a very affordable fruit that can double as hammer, weapon or oddly
shaped bowling ball.
Quick Pineapple facts:
- Every pineapple plant produces one pineapple each year.
- A pineapple cannot ripen more after it is picked.
- The fruit, peel, and juice of pineapples is said to remove
warts.
- You can grow your own pineapple by planting the top of it in
soil.