Bizarre giant pear proposal for Aussie town

Perth Now

03-07-2025

Amid the success of Australia's 'big things', such as the Big Banana and the Big Pineapple, a Victorian town is now advocating to build the biggest pear on Earth.
The city of Shepparton has a proposal for a three-storey pear in the heart of the Goulburn Valley, led by The Steering Group.
Rocky Varapodio, a spokesman for the group, said these sorts of attractions can 'really highlight' regional towns. A proposed Giant Pear to sit at the southern entrance of Shepparton. Bruce Mactier Building Designers Credit: News Corp Australia
'We've been doing a lot of work on this and the background of it is that the fruit industry has really over the years talked about having a structure in the region that really symbolises and recognises fruit growing in the area,' he told Triple M.
Mr Varapodio said the giant pear was about 'telling a story' about the region.
'We think the time is probably right now to recognise this industry that's given so much to this region,' he said.
The Goulburn Valley is well known for its pears, with 90% of the fruit sold across the country coming from the region.
Mr Varapodio explained that potentially $2 million could be generated back into the economy, from the giant pear.
However, early estimates have suggested the project could cost $1.3 million, with the steering group seeking government, council and stakeholder support to fund the idea.
'The next phase is to get a structural design done because we want it to be done properly and tastefully, we want it to be a whole interactive experience when you walk into it with some really good technology such as touch screens and displays that really tell a story about this industry that's been so solid for this region,' Mr Varapodio said.
'It's hard to put a time frame on it but we would really like this to happen over the next few years.'