Palmerston’s famous dinosaur didn’t always stand alone

A large dinosaur looms over a piece of land off the Stuart Highway, but it didn’t always stand alone. Read about the lost statues of Darwin.

A social media quest has unveiled some answers about the lost dinosaurs of Darwin.

A post asking about “Derek the Diplodocus”, the statue that stands at the back of Palmerston Bunnings, kicked off a chain of replies.

Another poster revealed the dinosaur’s name was actually “Big Kev” and he had long stood tall over that piece of land.

Even more responses had people reminiscing about Big Kev’s arrival, his buddies - which included raptors, a giant stone buffalo and even a dragon - and how they all wound up there in the first place.

Big Kev used to reign over Finlay’s Stone Masons and was a purchase by Tom Finlay himself in 2007 to stand alongside the business.

Might seem a little strange to fill your stone masons’ lot with dinosaurs and dragons, especially one as big as Big Kev, but the business slogan was ‘Get stoned with Tom’ so Mr Finlay certainly did things his own way.

Stonemason Tom Finlay with one of his raptors and Big Kev behind him. Picture: File

Big Kev with another of his raptors. Picture: File

Steve Pattison who has been an employee at Finlay’s Stone Mason’s for a decade said there was a method to Mr Finlays madness.

“He just grabbed them for shits and giggles really,” he said.

“He just purchased them when he was doing up the gardens and he wanted something to attract attention, that was the whole point of them.”

Attract attention they did, right up to 2017 when Bunnings bought the land from Mr Finlay, prompting the dispersal of Big Kev’s mates.

The big fella himself however proved too hard to move, also too popular according to Mr Pattison.

Big Kev in all his glory. Picture: Supplied

“When Bunnings bought the land off Tom they bought fixtures and improvements,” he said.

“That big dinosaur had to have engineering approval, so it was cyclone rated, which meant it was technically classed as a fixture.

“I think the original plan of Bunnings was to scrap it, just get rid of it, but the community kicked up a bit of a stink about it so they ended up keeping it.”

So, to this day, you can still see Big Kev off the Stuart Highway near the Palmerston Bunnings, but where did the rest of the crew end up?

The Big Buffalo that used to stand tall at Finlay's Stone Masons. Picture: Facebook (Old Darwin)

“I think the smaller raptors ended up at private residences, so they are hard to find,” Mr Pattison said.

“The big dragon that was hand made by Tetchy the local lady up here, that dragon ended up getting moved to the Botanical Gardens. Same as some of the rock sculptures we had.

“He had this big stone granite buffalo... he is somewhere around.”

Somewhere indeed, as anyone who has visited or passed by Travans Cars and Commercials further down the Stuart Hwy in Winnellie can attest.

The towering pink buffalo still stands at the site, and has done so for decades.

The dragon that can now be found at the Botanical Gardens. Picture: Facebook

If the Facebook comments about Big Kev are anything to go by, he is still a much loved part of Palmerston, and can still get tongues wagging.

“Big Kev - Tall, dark and handsome,” one person commented with their own photo of the icon.

But others felt that Kev needed to be with his family rather than standing alone.

“Pity Kev isn’t relocated to the gardens. He looks way out of place where he is now,” they wrote.

Big Kev stands tall in Palmerston, the dragon and friends are located at the Botanical Gardens, the pink buffalo is out there loud and proud, but the whereabouts of the raptors are still a mystery.

Originally published as Palmerston’s famous dinosaur didn’t always stand alone