Community & Business
24 October, 2024
Giant cassowary in store for Kuranda
KURANDA will join the many towns across Australia that embrace Big Things, now that plans for a giant Cassowary have been given the go-ahead by Mareeba Shire Council.
The statue, which would be between 4-6m high, is part of the Cassowary Art Trail, a project being overseen by the Kuranda Conservation Community Nursery in partnership with Terra Nova Gallery.
“The Cassowary Art Trail is a project aimed at raising public awareness about the endangered Southern Cassowary and its importance in Indigenous culture in the natural environment,” Mayor Angela Toppin said at a meeting last Wednesday.
There was no cost involved, but council agreed to support the nursery in its quest for funding to buy, install and maintain a Giant Cassowary at Centenary Park adjacent to Therwine St.
Kuranda Conservation Community Nursery secretary Jax Bergersen said the long-awaited news of the approval was another milestone for the project.
“These things take a while but the expertise from so many amazing people in our community is fantastic,” she said.
She credits Gallery owner Jurg Jutzi as the “brainchild” of the Cassowary Art Trail and the Giant bird. The group had already erected life-sized cassowary statues, painted by individual Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, to represent each region in the Wet Tropics region.
The giant version, which will be about 4m, Jax said, would also be a painted art piece, by a collaboration of artists and community members.
“We have raised funds to “get things started”, and have the support of many local businesses, artists and a whirlpool of volunteers,” she said.
The council approved the proposal after reviewing Department of Transport and Main Roads guidelines for ‘Roadside Advertising’ and driver/pedestrian distraction. The review found the Centenary Park location offered “a prime viewing opportunity for around 1,500 vehicles per day, in addition to as many as 3,000 pedestrians per day.”
Deputy Mayor Lenore Wyatt also gave a “big shout-out” to the community for its hard work.
“They are obviously trying to be proactive about the cassowary, but also tourism,” she said. “It’s a little bit like the Big Pineapple, I suppose, the big whatever. I take my hat off to them, they’ve been trudging along with this Cassowary Trail for quite a while now and this is going to be really exciting.”
Australia reportedly has over 600 “Big Things”, which first began emerging in the early 1960s, with the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, NSW; and the giant Scotsman in Medindie, SA. Other tourist attracting Big Things include a pineapple (Nambour), a golden guitar (Tamworth), a merino (Goulburn), and a prawn (Ballina).
Closer to home is Tully’s Golden Gumboot and the Big Crocodile in Normanton. Until 2022, an 8m high statue of Captain Cook stood for 50 years on the main northbound road out of Cairns. It was removed for land redevelopment.
