Towering more than 5 metres above a park in Victoria’s north-west is a big shrivelled brown sculpture with a beaming smile.
The Big Sultana in Mildura has actually been revealed as Australia’s latest huge thing.
The monolithic fibreglass fruit has actually been put up along Mildura’s riverfront precinct to commemorate 100 years of dried fruit production in the Sunraysia area.
The sculpture, which is 5.25 metres high and weighs 1,250 kgs, is 525 times the size of a typical sultana, and took 13 weeks to construct. It has actually been put along Mildura’s riverfront precinct at Nowingi Place near Ornamental Lakes Park.
Why an animation sultana?
The Sunraysia area is Australia’s most significant dried fruit and dried grape producing area.
More than 300 growers produce dried grapes throughout 3,500 hectares of land in north-west Victoria and south-west New South Wales.
Sunbeam basic supervisor Elizabeth Miller understood developing the Big Sultana to commemorate the centenary would interest the Australian sense of humour.
She acknowledged the danger of producing something that might be misinterpreted for something not so edible.
“We think it looks like a sultana, but we’re willing to laugh along with anyone else that, you know, wants to sort of have a bit of a joke about it,” she stated.
“We wanted the sultana to really just look as much like a sultana as possible with the colour, the shape and the wrinkles.”
A male checks out info on the plinth below the Big Sultana. (ABC News: Sarah Buchecker
She stated including a beaming cartoonish smile was meant to increase its interest passers-by and travelers alike.
“They’re meant to bring a smile to people’s faces. They’re meant to be a little bit of fun,” she stated.
“We want to be respectful of the industry and the community, but we’re also able to kind of see the funny side.”
A tourist drawcard?
Mildura Deputy Mayor Helen Healy stated the Big Sultana would attract kids and households.
“The dried fruit industry was one of the first industries in Australia to develop the cooperative model and we are very proud of that legacy,” Cr Healy stated.
“This gift to the community … is a fun tribute to our proud local cultural heritage. We hope it sparks conversation and interest in our agricultural history.”
Mildura-Wentworth Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Peter Alexander stated it would assist individuals find out where Australia’s sultana packages originate from.
“We’ve already got Big Lizzie, the Big Orange and the Big Yabby over at Wentworth — and now we’ve got the Big Sultana,” Mr Alexander stated.
“It’s a bit of fun, but it also tells an important story.”
Favorable responses
Many observers who saw the ended up item prior to its unveiling were amazed.
“I reckon it’s really cute, good for the kids,” Tracey May stated.
Mildura’s Big Sultana. (ABC News: Sarah Buchecker
“They’ll smile every time they look at it with the big smile he’s got.”
Another passer-by, Cos, stated he believed it was fitting for the area.
“We’re probably one of the few places that still produces sultanas, so it probably is pretty fitting, we were the biggest producer for a long, long time and I think we still are,” he stated.
Andrew, who identified the sculpture while consuming lunch close by, stated it would match other destinations along the Mildura riverfront.
“With everything we have down at the riverfront with the lights, the stage and the eatery here, it all adds one to the other to the other,” he stated.
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