Visit some supersized attractions around the state

VICTORIA’S “big” tourist attractions might not have the same pull as the NSW Big Banana or Queensland’s Big Pineapple, but they’re our big things and worth a look.

Victoria’s “big” tourist attractions might not have the same pull as the NSW Big Banana or Queensland’s Big Pineapple, but they’re our big things and worth a look.

MARILYN MONROE

Grace Phillips, 17, dresses up at the dramatic eight metre high sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Bendigo. Picture: Rob Leeson.

Marilyn Monroe is the latest addition to the “big” list but will also be the most short-lived. A giant on the small screen she is now larger than life outside Bendigo Art Gallery to promote an exhibition on the movie legend. The three-storey sculpture Forever Marilyn stands 8m high in the iconic pose from the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch in which Monroe’s character stands over a subway grate and her white dress billows around her.

Rosalind Park, Bendigo

GIANT KOALA

On the Western Highway at the tiny outpost of Dadswells Bridge, 27km northwest of Stawell, sits a rather grumpy looking but very large koala. Sculptor Ben Van Zetton was hired in 1988 to design and build the koala which stands 14m tall and weighs 12 tonnes and is part of a tourist complex. At night, Sam, as the koala is now known, is a little eerie with his eyes glowing red.

5829 Western Hwy, Dadswells Bridge

FIDO

Fido the dog guards Fairfield Railway Station.

The Fairfield Industrial Dog Object, better known as FIDO, has greeted travellers in Fairfield since 2000. Built of hardwood, the 5.5m high and 8m long dog sits next to Fairfield Station and was originally designed to be a robot dog with sensors allowing it to wag its tail, wiggle its ears and light up at night but these features have since failed. It was built to represent the dog-loving community of the inner-city suburb.

Station St, Fairfield

NED KELLY

Ned Kelly was a larger than life character in life and remains so 135 years after his death. The 6m tall gun-toting armour-clad Ned Kelly guards the village of Glenrowan and it was in a siege near here that he wore the iconic metal armour. Giant Ned used to be a popular landmark for travellers along the Hume Highway but since the highway bypassed Glenrowan town you need to take a detour to visit the historic township.

Cnr Gladstone and Kate St, Glenrowan

GIANT WORM

There is a 100m long giant earthworm curving its way through the earth near Bass in Gippsland. It was part of the Wildlife Wonderland Park, home to the giant earthworm museum which existed to educate people about the unique giant Gippsland earthworm. These worms average 1m long and 2cm in diameter but can grow up to 3m long and only live in Gippsland. The complex closed in 2012 but the worm can still be seen from the highway.

Bass Hwy, Gippsland

BIG CIGAR

The Gippsland town of Churchill, just south of Morwell, was originally to be named Hazelwood but was renamed after Sir Winston Churchill’s death. And it has a sculpture officially called Spire, but because of its shape and colour it resembles Winston Churchill’s famous cigar and has been dubbed the big cigar. At the base of the cigar, built by the Rotary Club of Hazelwood, is a brick wall listing the names of the first families to move in to town.

GIANT MURRAY COD

Near the banks of the Murray River at Swan Hill is a remnant of the time the little-known movie Eight Ball was filmed in town — a giant 11m Murray cod. The big fish was built as a movie prop and after filming wrapped up the locals decided they liked it so much they preserved the steel and timber fish in fibreglass and slapped it in town. Arnold, as the giant Murray cod is known, is also a monument to the big cod caught in the river before their numbers dropped due to irrigation and drought.

139 Curlewis St, Swan Hill