The Big Prawn is one of Australia’s iconic big things, developed by brothers to help attract customers into their service station in Ballina. The sculpture is designed as a tribute to the main industry of the town, in this case prawning. The brothers are also responsible for the Big Merino Ram in Goulburn and The … Read more
Ballina Manor is a boutique hotel in an Edwardian style building dating back nearly 100 years, originally built in 1924 as a girls college. As the population in Ballina approached 4,000 after World War I, building of a girls college was proposed in 1921. Officially opened in 1925, the girls college operated until 1930 when … Read more
The Ballina Naval & Maritime Museum has a collection and displays of maritime and naval history and memorabilia. Ballina has a long history of shipping on the river, beginning with the arrival of Sally in 1842. By 1847, Ballina had four regular trading vessels bring in supplies and passengers and taking out timber. Ballina was … Read more
The Ballina Visitor Infomation Centre is an accredited visitor centre with friendly staff with a wealth of local knowledge. The tourist centre has a range of arts and crafts, local products, and souvenirs, as well as maps, brochures and other information. Address: 6 River Street, Ballina, New South Wales. Website: https://www.discoverballina.com.au/visit/ballina-visitor-information-centre Phone: 02 6686 3484 Email: … Read more
Australia’s biggest windmill is in Penong in South Australia, accompanied with a collection of windmills in the Windmill Museum. Built in 1932, the windmill was first used by the Commonwealth Railways at the McKinnon Dam to provide water for the railways at Kultanaby Railway siding. It was later purchased by Coondambo station in 1977 and … Read more
The Big Knight was built in the 1980s to accompany the Macadamia Castle built a few years before it. Macadamia Castle was first called Knockrow Castle and the knight was planned to stand sentry at the entrance of the car park and addition to Australia’s growing big things. The armour was originally painted white with … Read more
Macadamia Castle has been a common stop along the Pacific Hwy north of Ballina for many years. It has been there for around 45 years, so if you have travelled along the Pacific Highway, you have most likely spotted the castle passing by. Since the dual-carriage highway bypassed Macadamia Castle from 2012, it hasn’t been … Read more
The Eyre Highway between Balladonia and Caiguna in Western Australia is the longest straight stretch of road in Australia, at a long 146.6 kilometres or 90 miles. The eastern end of the 90 Mile Straight is also the location and name of Hole 11 of the Nullarbor Golf Links Course , the world’s longest golf … Read more
The Eyre Highway between Balladonia and Caiguna in Western Australia is the longest straight stretch of road in Australia, at a long 146.6 kilometres or 90 miles. It would be the longest in the world if it were not for Highway 10 in Saudi Arabia is not quite twice as long at 162 miles or … Read more
Skylab is a space research laboratory from the 1970s that crashed leaving a trail of debris from Esperance through Balladonia and up to Zanthus in Western Australia. Skylab was America’s first experimental space station, launched on the last Saturn V rocket. Its objectives were to prove that humans can live and work in space over … Read more
