Bayswater Road Radiators has wheeled out what might be Townsville’s newest attraction

Big is better when it comes to Aussie landmarks, and this new “big” item in Townsville is as Aussie as it gets

Bowen has the Big Mango, the Sunshine Coast has the Big Pineapple, and Coffs Harbour has the Big Banana.

But those big-ticket items can move over, because Townsville has the Big Radiator.

The gigantic engine cooler has taken pride of place out the front of Bayswater Road Radiators, where it has caught the eye of local motorists for the past few days ever since Casey Thompson unveiled it after years of persistence and hard work.

Mr Thompson works alongside his brother Aaron at Bayswater Radiators, which was established by his father Bob more than 30 years ago.

The huge radiator belonged to Bob, who has owned the massive item for many years, but it was Casey who thought they could do something special.

Casey Thompson with The Big Radiator

“The old man’s had it for a number of years, and I thought how great would it be to put up on display,” Casey said.

“It hasn’t cost us much to do up. We used a lot of second hard parts to put it together, but we made sure we did it right as well.

“I just wanted to start the claim of Townsville having the biggest something.

“There’s Townsville’s busiest roundabout at the front of us on Duckworth St and Bayswater Road, so it’s well positioned.”

It turns out the giant radiator was going to be shifted from the business until Casey managed to spruce it up for display.

While it may not be the largest radiator in Australia, it’s certainly one of the biggest.

“It’s a bit of a joke in a way, but it’s a lot of fun,” Casey said.

“We obviously had to do the work on it outside of business hours, so it’s taken a fair bit of time.

“At the moment we bring it out the front when we open and then it goes back inside at the end of the day, so we’ll be looking for a permanent spot to put it.”

Originally published as Bayswater Road Radiators has wheeled out what might be Townsville’s newest attraction