Big Banana, Tourist attraction in Coffs Harbour, Australia
The Big Banana is an amusement park in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, built around a large walk-through banana sculpture set among a banana plantation. The yellow banana, with a green tip and black lettering reading "THE BIG BANANA" and "COFFS HARBOUR", stands above a red banner marking 50 years since 22 December 1964. The park also has an 82 m slide, a toboggan, water slides, dodgems, a 4D cinema, laser tag, mini golf, an ice rink, a reptile zoo and escape rooms.
The Big Banana opened on 22 December 1964, one of Australia's first Big Things, founded by Betty and John Landi with Stella and John Enveoldson as a family-owned business. Its banana-shaped structure was later copied by the Big Bunch of Bananas in Coffs Harbour and by the Big Bananas at Carnarvon, Western Australia. In 2011 the Huffington Post listed it among the "Top 10 Pieces of Folly Architecture."
The name comes from the banana plantation the park was built within, and plantation tours still run through it. Banana-related products are shown or sold in the park, alongside a souvenir shop and restaurant. The original sculpture has been copied by the Big Bunch of Bananas, also in Coffs Harbour, and by the Big Bananas at Carnarvon, Western Australia.
The Big Banana sits on a banana plantation off the Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour, with the rides, toboggan, water slides and ice rink spread across the grounds. Allow several hours to cover the separate areas, and note that the walk-through banana and the 82 m slide are at different points of the site.
The park's 82-metre slide is a dry ride, separate from the water slides. Australia Post put the Big Banana on a 50-cent stamp in 2007, part of a set of five stamps celebrating the country's Big Things, alongside the Big Lobster and the Big Merino.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,468 contributors worldwide.
