The History of The Big Stubby
The Big Stubby is found outside the Larrimah Hotel, Larrimah, Northern Territory. It is an oversized sculpture of the NT Draught stubby.
The enormous replica of the beer brand literally represents how big the beer is in real life. Stubby, an Australian slang, refers to a 375ml beer. However, NT Draught’s stubby is a 2270ml bottle of the famous beer, at least six times bigger than other stubbies in the market.
Because of its peculiar size and popularity, the beer is famously referred to as the Darwin Stubby. The Big Stubby bottle sculpture is accompanied by a pink panther seated next to it on a chair while holding his own beer.
The first pink panther was a soft, light mobile toy. However, because it was lightweight and portable, the pink panther risked being stolen, and as a result, it was replaced with the heavier and permanent pink panther.
Above the two sculptures hangs a gyrocopter flown by another pink panther — the three sculptures market the hotel. Initially, the hotel was located in Birdum, south Larrimah.
While the Big Stubby sculpture and its companions remain standing, NT Draught’s producers ended regular production in 2015. Carlton & United Breweries was the mind behind the legendary beer and other brands in their production line. However, the breweries faced stiff competition from Swan Breweries that commanded a larger market share for beer in the Northern Territory.
Despite closing shop, Carlton & United Breweries described the NT Draught as one of their heritage beers and would consider reviving the brand in the future for special production.
Beers and other refreshments continue to feature in the list of Big Things in different parts of the country. Some examples include:
- The Big Beer Can in Cobar, NSW
- The Big Beer Can in Ghan, NT
- The Big Wine Cask in Mourquong, NSW.
