BIG MERINO SAYS VIEW ME LARGER

Well the big guy is back where he belongs, and looking at the rear view he is the BIG merino and they say New Zealanders have a lot of sheep !

This shot taken with Nikon D300, Sigma 10-20mm and processed with 5 bracketted images and processed using Photomatix HDR

By Paul Mulvey | April 27, 2007
Article from: Australian Associated Press

FOR 15 years, something’s been missing on the trip along the Hume Highway past Goulburn in New South Wales.

That’s about to change, with Goulburn’s Big Merino to be trucked 800m down the road to reclaim its prime position among Australia’s “Big Things”.

Since the highway was re-routed to bypass the southern highlands city in 1992, the 15m high, 18m long landmark has languished in what became a back street, collecting dags and being overlooked by passing motorists.

But a group of Goulburn businessmen is to save the Big Merino from obscurity.

Its new owners will cut off its legs on May 26, weld it to the back of a truck and take all 96 tonnes of concrete sheep to a petrol station 800m away.

There the Big Merino will once again become a visual highlight for Hume Highway travellers.

Power lines will be taken down and the road will be closed for much of the day as dozens of workers carry out the move.

The Big Merino, which was built in 1985, will reopen in August for visits through its ground floor souvenir shop, second floor wool exhibition and eyeball lookout.

The Big Merino is one of an estimated 146 “Big Things” throughout Australia – a list which includes such oversized figures as The Big Prawn at Ballina, The Big Pineapple at Gympie and The Big Mallee Bull at Swan Hill.

Goulbourn’s merino even has a rival in Western Australia – Wagin’s The Giant Ram.

For other Big Things
http://www.wilmap.com.au/bigstuff/default.htm