
Australia's first Big Thing
In 1963, a big sculpture of a Scotsman appeared outside a motel. A banana, a koala, and even a potato followed, paving the way for one of the country's quirkiest phenomena.
In 1963, a giant Scotsman sculpture appeared outside the Scotty Motel in Adelaide, in South Australia. A banana, a koala, and even a potato soon followed, paving the way for the country’s beloved Big Things—one of Australia’s quirkiest cultural phenomena.
Paul Kelly was the artist behind both the Big Scotsman and the equally iconic Big Lobster. He and his daughter, Christobel Kelly, tell Stefania Gozzer how each sculpture came to life.
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Witness History
The story of our times, told by the people who were there
