This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Site-level location · 32.0163° S, 149.3966° E
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Dunedoo's name is often said to come from a word for black swan, and there is one mounted above the motel on the main street.
The Swan Motel at 58–60 Bolaro Street carries the giant black swan on its frontage, and the motel remains an active accommodation business. Current regional tourism and specialist documentation both confirm the swan is still there.
What makes Dunedoo interesting is that the swan is not the town's only sculpture, or even its main one. The park running the full length of the main street holds a set of birds native to the district, fabricated from recycled metal and farm machinery parts by David Sherlock – so the town has a whole aviary of scrap-metal birds alongside the fibreglass swan on the motel roof.
It also has painted silos, by the artist Peter Mortimore and his wife Carolyn, who grew up in Dunedoo. Silo art has become one of the most successful rural tourism movements in Australia over the past decade, and a town with silos, a bird sculpture trail and a Big Thing has assembled an unusually complete set for a place this size.
The Central West Cycle Trail passes through as well, a loop of nearly four hundred kilometres on quiet backroads linking Mudgee, Gulgong, Dunedoo, Mendooran, Ballimore, Dubbo, Geurie and Wellington – which brings a slow-moving audience through town.
As for the height, the installation date and the builder – nothing.
Photograph
This is a photograph, shown separately from the illustration artwork.
The Swan Motel remains an active accommodation business at 58–60 Bolaro Street, and current regional tourism plus specialist documentation confirm the Big Swan remains on the motel frontage.
ACCESS
Navigate to the Swan Motel at 58–60 Bolaro Street and use the motel's off-street parking or other legal parking. The Big Swan is visible from the property frontage.
