The Big Lollipop.

The story

Ravensthorpe is a small town of about 400 people in the South Coast of Western Australia, sitting roughly halfway between Albany and Esperance on the South Coast Highway. Like a lot of Australian Wheatbelt mining towns, its economic story has been turbulent — booms and busts driven by the local nickel mine, which closed for a second time in the late 2010s, hitting local jobs hard. When local resident Belinda McHarg opened the Yummylicious Candy Shack in 2016, the goal was partly a sweet shop and partly a tourism intervention: give travellers a reason to actually stop in town.

By 2019, McHarg wanted something bigger. The idea — possibly inspired by every Big Thing-themed town across Australia, possibly arrived at independently — was a giant freestanding lollipop. She'd applied to the Guinness World Records for "world's largest freestanding lollipop" before construction even began, with the spec carefully designed to take the record. When unveiled on 8 September 2019 to mark the candy shop's third anniversary, the Big Lollipop stood 7.4 metres tall and 4 metres wide, painted in classic concentric-circle rainbow stripes.

Then came the bureaucratic gut-punch. Guinness disqualified the record claim, because the lollipop was built from two materials — an aluminium "stick" core attached to a steel "head" — and the official "freestanding lollipop" record requires construction from a single material. McHarg accepted the ruling with good humour. Even without formal Guinness recognition, the Big Lollipop remains the world's largest freestanding lollipop in actual fact, and Ravensthorpe got a new tourist attraction.

"The Big Lollipop was launched to mark the candy stores third anniversary. The owners applied for a Guinness World Record but were disqualified because the material of the lollipop was made of two materials — aluminium and steel — instead of one. D'oh!" — Ella's List, on the Guinness disqualification

Since 2019, the Big Lollipop has become a regular photo stop on the Perth → Esperance → Albany South Coast loop, on the Silo Art Trail (which runs through nearby Ravensthorpe and Pingrup), and as part of any visit to nearby Fitzgerald River National Park. The Candy Shack itself stocks an enormous range of lollies and is justifiably popular with kids on long road trips. The full experience: stop, photo with the giant lollipop, buy actual lollies inside, continue on.

Visiting the Big Lollipop

The Big Lollipop stands outside the Yummylicious Candy Shack at 89 Morgans Street, Ravensthorpe — easily visible from the road and from a long way off. The Candy Shack opens 10am to 5pm daily; the lollipop itself is visible at any hour. Free to view and photograph, no tickets required. Parking is easy at the shop or on the street.

What's at the site

• The Big Lollipop himself — 7.4m × 4m, rainbow-striped, on a sturdy aluminium-and-steel structure, in front of the Candy Shack's pink exterior.
• Yummylicious Candy Shack — the actual candy shop. Hundreds of varieties of lollies, retro Australian sweets, plus ice cream and cold drinks. Worth the stop.
• Ravensthorpe township — small town with a working pub, basic groceries, a post office, and a working tourism information centre.

Trivia worth knowing

• The Big Lollipop was unveiled on 8 September 2019 — Father's Day in Australia that year.
• It stands 7.4 metres tall and 4 metres wide, painted in classic concentric-circle rainbow stripes.
• The structure uses two materials — aluminium (the "stick") and steel (the "head") — which is what disqualified it from a formal Guinness World Records "freestanding lollipop" entry.
• Owner Belinda McHarg commissioned the build as a tourism intervention when the local nickel mine closed for a second time, hitting Ravensthorpe employment hard.
• Construction took approximately 2 years from concept to unveiling.
• Ravensthorpe sits on the South Coast Highway between Albany and Esperance — both major South Coast WA tourism towns. The Big Lollipop sits squarely on this route.
• Nearby Fitzgerald River National Park is one of the world's recognised biodiversity hotspots, with over 1,800 species of plants — many endemic.

What else is nearby

Ravensthorpe is a long way from anywhere — 6 hours' drive southeast of Perth, 3 hours west of Esperance, 2 hours east of Albany via the South Coast Highway. After the Big Lollipop, the standout nearby destination is Fitzgerald River National Park (30 minutes south, world-class WA wilderness with 1,800+ plant species and the famous Hopetoun Coast). The town of Hopetoun (35 minutes south) is the gateway to the park.

For other WA Big Things, the closest is the DNA Tower at Kings Park Perth (6 hours west by road), and the Big Orange (WA) at Harvey (4.5 hours west). The other South Coast WA icons are mostly smaller local attractions rather than recognised Big Things.

When to visit

South Coast WA has a Mediterranean climate — warm dry summers, mild winters, with the wildflower season (September–November) as the standout time. The Big Lollipop is visible year-round. If you're in the area specifically for the Big Things, combine the lollipop visit with the Fitzgerald River wildflower drive — September through November is the spectacular season.