Queensland, home to the Big Pineapple and the Big Mango, has added another jumbo-size fruit to its platter.
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About 300 kilometres west of Brisbane lies Australia's tiny "melon capital", the town of Chinchilla.
Now the 6600 residents have their own Big Melon to accompany their annual Melon Festival.
The four-tonne Big Melon, almost nine metres wide and more than three metres tall, was unveiled on Wednesday at Chinchilla’s visitor centre.
The Big Melon was chosen by online travel company Wotif as Australia’s "Next Big Thing".
“We received such an overwhelming response at the final shortlisting stage, that the total number of votes equates to 70 per cent of the population in our four finalist towns,” Wotif managing director Daniel Finch said.
“It goes to show the significance of ‘big things’ in Australia and how sentimental Aussies are about them.”
The Big Melon was selected over a Big Peanut for Kingaroy in Queensland, a Big Kilt for Glen Innes in the NSW Northern Tablelands and a Big Tulip for Mittagong in the Southern Highlands.
Mr Finch said he hoped the Big Melon would provide travellers with "fruitful experiences", and encouraged Australians to consider a road trip to the region.
Western Downs Regional Council mayor Paul McVeigh said he was thrilled the Big Melon would be Queensland’s newest attraction.
“The Western Downs is the tourist hot spot of regional Queensland, with communities and events which draw thousands of people to the region every year,” he said.
“I could not think of a better way to capture the fun and excitement of visiting our region, especially after the Chinchilla Melon Festival, than by having your photo taken with our newest tourist attraction.”
The next Chinchilla Melon Festival will be February 14-19.
