Residents of Bowen in north Queensland awoke to a shock this morning: the 10-metre tall tourist attraction known as the ‘Big Mango’ has mysteriously disappeared. Police suspect pranksters for the overnight heist although we wouldn’t rule out peckish UFO pilots either. Whatever the cause, there’s now one less ‘big thing’ to take photos of in Australia. Thankfully, there are still plenty of over-sized tourist attractions to gawp at should the mood strike you.
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Bowen’s Big Mango is a 10-metre-high fibreglass structure that requires heavy machinery to move. It’s sudden disappearance has baffled local authorities and residents alike. Chairman of Tourism Bowen Paul McLaughlin told ABC News that the Mango was not scheduled for maintenance.
“I’m sure the public will help us find it but at this stage we are just on the early stages of looking at [security] footage,” McLaughlin said.
Could the whole thing be a publicity stunt? It certainly wouldn’t surprise us (edgy viral marketing is all the rage these days), but it seems odd for Bowen’s Chairman of Tourism to blatantly lie to media and the public for the sake of a kooky gag.
Until the Big Mango is rebuilt or uncovered, you’re going to have to settle for one of the 145 other Big Things that currently dot the Australian landscape. Here’s the complete list of Australian Big Things for your reference, from the Big Lobster in Kingston SA to the Big Beer Can in Cobar NSW. See ’em before they disappear!
[ABC News]
Comments
3 responses to “The Big Mango Has Been Stolen (But There Are Still 145 Big Things To Visit)”
my friends, the Hartung family have just embarked on a very brave road trip from Victoria and are on their way up the coast, travelling to Qld, i think they would like to be able to see this Mango. their 14 year old son Dylan has been fighting NB (cancer of the nervous system) for nearly 10 years now. can the Mango please be found and returned to it’s home, immediately!
Bowen Police haven’t been contacted, i’d say it’s a publicity stunt.
According to the ABC News report linked above, Tourism Bowen did report the incident to the police. I’d wager this is something the ABC would fact-check.
They have contacted police, but haven’t reported it stolen… read into that what you will.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/02/24/3951349.htm?site=tropic
Seems it may be a hoax..
I just saw on the news that they have footage of large crane pulling up to remove it with some worker in the hard hat helping. Now there are not that many trucks like that, even if you don’t get the license plate. Two when you carting it in a hand bag then its easy to conceal but this one is slightly larger. Did you get that”Slightly”. Now consider advertising costs and then consider insurance for big thing like that. I am sure it’s been removed to cut the costs and advertising is just a happy by products. Then you can’t rule out a rich collector in Armani suit, that wants this big thing on his/her shelf. Too bad its not a real one, at least you could eat it.
Confirmed media stunt (Nandos + Big Mango owner):
http://www.news.com.au/travel/big-mango-tourist-attraction-stolen-from-bowen-has-been-found/story-e6frfq7r-1226836291404
let me youtube that for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lf42JuPKyQ