The Big Banana.

The story

The Big Banana wasn't the first Big Thing in Australia — that honour goes to the Big Scotsman in Adelaide, erected a year earlier. But it was the first to prove that an oversized fibreglass sculpture could draw paying customers off the highway in commercially serious numbers, and in doing so it set the template for everything that followed.

The story starts with John Landi, an American entomologist who'd settled in the Coffs Harbour region and was running a roadside banana stall on the Pacific Highway. Inspired by the "Roadside Giants" of the American highway system, Landi decided to build something passing motorists couldn't ignore. The 5-metre by 11-metre fibreglass banana opened to traffic on 22 December 1964.

It worked. The stall became a complex; the complex became an attraction; the attraction became an institution. By the 1980s the Big Banana was on every family-holiday slideshow east of the Nullarbor, and by the 1990s it had inspired hundreds of imitators across regional Australia.

"Australians started building Big Things in the early 1960s as a way to draw tourist attention to roadside businesses. They've since been embraced by councils and tourist operators as a method for promoting entire regions." — Dr Amy Clarke, Senior Lecturer in History, University of the Sunshine Coast

Today the site is a fully-functioning fun park: waterslides, mini golf, a toboggan ride, a 4D theatre, ice skating, and plantation tours all sit on the original Landi property. The banana itself has been repainted and refurbished multiple times but stands in its original spot — and remains free to visit, photograph, and (technically) lick, though we don't recommend the last one.

Visiting the Big Banana

The Big Banana is part of the Big Banana Fun Park complex at 351 Pacific Highway, on the northern outskirts of Coffs Harbour. Parking is free and abundant; allow 2–3 hours if you want to do any of the rides, 20 minutes if you're just stopping for the photo.

What's at the Fun Park

The site has grown considerably since the 1960s. Current attractions include:

• The Big Banana itself — the original 1964 structure, free to walk up to and photograph.
• Toboggan ride — a fast 600m gravity-powered run down the hill.
• WaterPark — open seasonally, with multiple slides and a splash zone for younger kids.
• Ice skating rink — Australia's largest year-round indoor rink.
• Mini golf — 18 holes themed around Australian landmarks.
• 4D Theatre — short adventure films with effects.
• Plantation tour — a working banana plantation walk-through.
• Gift shop — for the obligatory souvenir.

What else is nearby

Coffs Harbour itself is worth a stop beyond the banana — see our full Coffs Harbour travel guide for the recommended 2-day itinerary. The Jetty Foreshores are excellent for a coastal walk; Muttonbird Island gives you a 30-minute scramble to a lookout with humpback whale sightings in season (May–November). For food, head to the Jetty Strip for casual dining or the harbour itself for fish and chips with seal viewing thrown in.

If you're chasing Big Things specifically, the closest neighbour is the Big Prawn in Ballina (a further 240km north on the Pacific Highway) — easily linked into a 2-day NSW coast Big Things mini-itinerary.

Trivia worth knowing

• The Big Banana appeared on a 50-cent Australia Post commemorative stamp in 2007.
• It was featured on a Royal Australian Mint $1 coin in 2023.
• Bill Bryson visited and wrote about it in Down Under (2000).
• The interior of the banana has been used as a small museum space at various points.
• John Landi sold the operation in the 1970s; it has changed hands multiple times since.

When to visit

Coffs Harbour has a sub-tropical climate — warm, humid summers and mild winters. For Big Banana visits specifically, we recommend April–May or September–October: pleasant temperatures, lower humidity, fewer crowds than school holidays. Avoid Christmas/January (peak crowds) and February (peak humidity and rainfall).