This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
33.05084° S, 135.46207° E
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Seventeen years passed between the idea and the dedication, and the granite came out of the ground it stands on.
In 1992 the Wudinna and district community decided it was time to recognise their history, community spirit and belief in rural Australia through a work of art. The artist Marijan Bekic spent time in the region getting a feel for the country and the people and produced the concept he titled Australian Farmer. Then many years passed. The committee made the pivotal decision to proceed in 2007, and the finished eight-metre granite sculpture was dedicated in 2009.
Fifteen years between concept and green light is a very long time for a volunteer committee to hold an idea together, and the fact that it survived says a good deal about the district.
The funding is the other striking part. Volunteers gave time and talents, and the record specifically notes contributions from the Croatian community across Australia and from corporate companies with no natural link to Wudinna at all – people who simply believed in the Australian Farmer.
Granite is the correct material and a brutally difficult one. Eyre Peninsula granite is the local stone, the country around Wudinna is defined by enormous granite outcrops, and carving a monumental figure from it is months of work that cannot be undone.
The result is one of the few oversized objects in this catalogue that is a serious carved stone monument rather than a fabricated shell – closer to a war memorial than a roadside attraction, standing on the Eyre Highway beside a picnic area.
Photograph
This is a photograph, shown separately from the illustration artwork.
The Australian Farmer is an eight-metre granite sculpture on the Eyre Highway at Wudinna, honouring Australian farming communities. It stands beside a visitor car park and picnic area on the highway.
ACCESS
Navigate to the Australian Farmer site on the Eyre Highway and use the established visitor car park and picnic area.
