The Big Mandarin in Mundubbera, North Burnett Region, Queensland is an oversized fiberglass sculpture of an Ellendale Mandarin. It sits in a caravan park and doubles as a kiosk. Built in 1983, the Big Mandarin measures 11 metres by 15 metres.
The town of Mundubbera is famously referred to as the Citrus Capital of Queensland. However, this title is also claimed by the neighbouring town of Gayndah, Munduberra’s fierce rival in citrus farming.
There was a time when Mundubbera would produce over one third of Queensland’s citrus fruit and claimed to be home to the largest single citrus orchard in the Southern Hemisphere. Today, there are different types of fruits being grown in this town.
Examples include lychees, nectarines, peaches, watermelons, mangoes, avocadoes, blueberries, and rockmelons.
The Big Mandarin was built to attract attention to the town and celebrate the local’s citrus farming culture. The sculpture was built in Brisbane by Neville Roger.
For easy transportation to Mundubbera, the iconic Big Mandarin was built in ten sections. It was then shipped in semi-trailers to its current location, and each panel welded together on the site.
On May 23, 1983, the Big Mandarin in Mundubbera was officially opened by the then Queensland Minister for Tourism and was nicknamed the ‘Enormous Ellendale.’ The iconic Mandarin sculpture instantly became famous with the locals and visitors.
In its heydays, the Mandarin sculpture attracted tourists from as far as Brisbane, who also visited the town’s citrus orchards. Today, it sits silently as the reception office for the Citrus Country Caravan Village, formerly known as the Big Mandarin Caravan Park.
The Big Mandarin in Mundubbera, Queensland, is not the only iconic Big Thing in this part of Australia. Please visit our Queensland page to read more about other historic Big Things in Queensland.
You may also want to visit our store which has a variety of big things inspired merchandise.
