Description
He's big, he's bright orange and he's unrivalled in terms of size, complexity and attention to detail. The Big Lobster is arguably one of Australia's most impressive Big Things... Rumour has it that the Big Lobster was originally designed to be much smaller, but somewhere along the line the instructions got mixed up and the lobster was built in metres instead of feet.
Secured with guy wires, the 17-metre high red lobster is 15.2 metres from mouth to tail and has a leg span of 13.7 metres. Ian Backler, a second-generation lobster fisherman in Kingston and President of the Australian Fisheries Industry Council, came up with the idea to promote Kingston's local produce of wine, cheese, timber and of course lobster. It was decided that people were more likely to stop for a lobster than a big block of cheese or a pine tree...
You'll find 'Larry' (as he's known to the locals) at the northern entrance to Kingston - a town known for its many great pubs, hotels and shops. You might find this a worthwhile stop if you're travelling between Adelaide (295 kilometres northwest) and Melbourne (540 kilometres to the east)! The restaurant below serves all sorts of good-by-reputation seafood, plus there is a gift shop underneath where you can get your Big Lobster souveniers!
The Big Lobster is located on the Princes Highway (East Terrace), Kingston S.E. Tel: (08) 8767 2555
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