The Big Banana is a tourist attraction and
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
in the city of
Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. The grounds of the park are set amongst a banana
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
, featuring a large walk-through
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
. Built in 1964, it was one of Australia's first
Big Things
''Big Things'' was a large-scale steel sculpture exhibition series organized by the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop for the Royal Alberta Museum's outdoor South Terrace.Gilbert Bouchard, "Come to Expect 'Big Things'", Edmonton Journal, July 1 ...
. Other attractions include a downhill
toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada.
In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill o ...
ride,
ice skating
Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...
rink, a
water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
and the World of Bananas educational experience. Plantation tours are also available. On the evening of
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
2014, a disused scenic lookout attraction was destroyed by fire. In keeping with the plantation theme, banana-related products are shown or sold in the park which also has a souvenir shop and restaurant. In January 2014, during the peak tourist season the Big Banana received close to 150,000 visitors. The Big Banana has been a family owned business since it was open by Patrick Hughes in 1964.
The original Big Banana has been copied by the Big Bananas at
Carnarvon, Western Australia
Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately north of Perth, in Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningaloo Re ...
.
In 2011, ''
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' included the Big Banana in their list of the "Top 10 Pieces of Folly Architecture."
Attractions
Current
Along with the Big Banana which is 15m long, featuring the Racer 82m slide, the site includes
laser tag
Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits and are sometimes integrated wit ...
,
mini golf
Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...
,
ice skating
Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...
rink, a theatre providing an educational experience, and a
toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada.
In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill o ...
ride, a
water park
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
and a
reptile zoo.
Former
The park featured three scenic
monorail
A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...
sets driven on a two beam track. The monorail's track linked display buildings and transported visitors up the steep slope of the plantation.
In 2005, a broken down set was being pushed by one of the two other sets to a maintenance shed for repairs when the coupling system failed and the broken down set ploughed into the lagoon within the park.
The track passed by a
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
that featured an animatronic
bunyip
The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
Name
The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...
, which was shut off in 2005 due to budget constraints.
Much of the track remains throughout the park and plantations while the two car sets that remained have been left unattended on tracks each near a disused buildings.
File:Big Banana Train 1.jpg, alt=Big Banana Train Set, Carriages belonging to one of the two remaining train sets now out of service, next to an unused green house.
File:Big Banana Train 2.png, alt=Big Banana Train Set, One of the two remaining train sets now out of service with a driver car and carriage belonging to the other set in the foreground.
Postage stamps
Australia Post
Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...
issued a set of 50c postage stamps in 2007 commemorating big things, including the Big Banana.
The other big thing stamps were:
*
(Big) Golden Guitar at
Tamworth, New South Wales
Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-western region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...
*
Big Lobster
The ''Big Lobster'' is a tourist attraction located in the town of Kingston SE, South Australia. Known locally as ''Larry the Lobster'', the sculpture of a spiny lobster stands 17 metres tall, and is regarded as one of the most impressive of Aust ...
at
Kingston SE
Kingston SE (Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston-on-Murray) formerly Kingston is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east coastline on the shores of Lacepede Bay. It is located about ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
*
Big Merino
The Big Merino is a tall concrete merino ram, located in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. Nicknamed "Rambo" by locals, the Big Merino contains a gift shop on the ground floor and a wool display on the second floor. Visitors can climb to th ...
(sheep) at
Goulburn
Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
*
Big Pineapple
The Big Pineapple is a heritage-listed tourist attraction at Nambour Connection Road, Woombye, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Peddle Thorp and Harvey, Paul Luff, and Gary Smallcombe and Associates. It i ...
at
Nambour
Nambour is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 11,187 people.
Geography
Nambour is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The town lies in the sub ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
See also
*
Australia's big things
The big things of Australia are large structures, some of which are novelty architecture and some are sculptures. There are estimated to be over 230 such objects around the country. There are big things in every state and territory in contin ...
*
List of world's largest roadside attractions
This is a list of verifiably notable roadside attractions.
Asia
Thailand
* Great Buddha of Thailand
Europe
North America Canada
Alberta
* World's Largest Dinosaur, Drumheller, Alberta
*Vegreville egg (Ukrainian Easter egg), Vegrevill ...
References
External links
*
{{Amusement parks in Australia , state=collapsed
Big things in New South Wales
Tourist attractions in New South Wales
Buildings and structures completed in 1964
1964 sculptures
Mid North Coast
Amusement parks in New South Wales
Bananas in popular culture
Coffs Harbour
1964 establishments in Australia
Ice rinks