A quintessentially Australian pair of items has joined the unmistakably Australian venerable list of big things, in the pursuit of greater tourist appeal for the otherwise unfamous town of Calen.
Found a leisurely 56 kilometres north of Mackay or more dedicated 1006 north of Brisbane, Calen is home to nearly four hundred people and the welcoming Calen Hotel.
Publican at the Calen, Gavin Butlin – aka “Butto” – was whiling away the time with a group of mates. The crew were reportedly “watching the caravans going up and down the highway” when they began to wonder how more tourists could be encouraged to come into town.
A whack of ideas were thrown around before they agreed on a pair of thongs.
One of the group, Lionel Knot, “does art”. Conveniently, he also reports to have toured the world in a good old-fashioned pair of Aussie thongs, which he nearly wore out through sheer overuse.
What more could Calen need, beyond a really big pair of thongs propped up beside the Bruce Highway.
Typically a portrait artist, Knott has been known to work with kangaroo hides – one of the toughest leathers – but says the Big Thongs were “one of the hardest things I’ve had to do”.
For four months Knott used a Stanley knife to fashion the footwear from conveyor belt rubber, salvaged from nearby mines.
The result was a phat pair of flip-flops standing 2.5-metres tall, unveiled in the Calen Hotel beer garden for Australia Day celebrations.
The thongs join a surprisingly long and clearly still growing list of “big” things around the country.
Our nation’s capital houses a mere eight biggies, the Apple Isle a comparable 11, the NT just 18, and the gargantuan Western Australia a modest 20 items of bigness.
South Australia steps it up with 29 bigs, Victoria squeezes in 36 of them – including two Big Ned Kellys. But the bulk of the biggest things are to be found in NSW, boasting 61, including the Big Poo and two different Big Chooks, and biggest of them all, Queensland, bursting with 75 The Bigs, including no less than three (man-made) Big Crocs.
The esoteric collection brings Australia’s total (as of early February 2021) to 258 larger-than-life novelty big attractions.
I am happy to say I celebrated Australia day at the Calen Hotel this year and loved every minute of it. The big Thongs were a great achievement and looked amazing. What a day, great food, great company, great music, and a great big pair of thongs haha. Well done Calen,