The Big Peanut to be built in regional Qld

“The Big Peanut” will be built at Kingaroy in regional Queensland to celebrate the peanut cropping history of the area and provide Queensland with another “big” attraction.

Regional Queensland radio program Breakfast with Cliffo and Gabi played a big part in rallying the troops, calling out for support to getting the Big Peanut happening.

“Yes Queensland, we have done it together,” host Gabi Elgood announced this morning over the airwaves on Hit 103.1 Townsville. “The Kingaroy community didn’t crack under pressure and didn’t stop until their wish for a giant peanut became a reality.”

Kristy Board, a Kingaroy local who is part of the committee that’s been campaigning for the Kingaroy Big Peanut, also spoke on the program, saying that the giant nut is going to be up and running as early as April. Abigail Andersson, another Kingaroy local and the woman behind the “Kingaroy Needs A Big Peanut” GoFundMe page which has raised more than $4600, also shared her vision for Australia’s next Big Thing on the show.

“The rules say that it has to be 600 times bigger than the actual thing – which isn’t hard for a nut,” she said. “We want it to be big enough to take some awesome selfies.”

For those not in the know, Kingaroy is known as the peanut capital of Australia. Streets are decorated with nutty signs, there’s a selling point known as “The Peanut Van”, huge peanut silos dominate the town and even the visitors’ centre has peanuts for sale.

The sculpture, to be built by creative fabricator Kane “Kano” Minogue (you can see his work here) will include cogs and gears from the town’s farming implements, representing the nuts and families that toiled to get them to where they are today.

The leviathan legume will be approximately 2.5 metres tall, and the unveiling event will give those who haven’t had a chance to taste the amazing local peanuts such as the Peanut Van’s Kingaroy Kurry, Maple Bacon, BBQ Pork Ribs and Angry Taco flavours will get to go nuts at the all-you-can-eat peanut buffet. We’re already packing our bags.

“As we celebrate 100 years of this legume being iconic to our region, we hope it will be able to stand for a million selfies for the next 100 years,” Andersson said.