The Big Watermelon

Wantirna South is outer-eastern suburban Melbourne, not farmland, and that changes what the watermelon means. Out on a highway a giant fruit says this is what grows here. In a suburb it says this is where you buy it – a produce market competing with supermarkets by being memorable from the road.

That is a distinct and under-noticed category in this catalogue. The Big Watermelon sits with the Big Strawberry, the Big Orange and a run of others whose real job is retail differentiation rather than regional identity. They tend to be less celebrated and considerably more durable, because the object stops existing the moment the business does – and conversely, the business has every reason to maintain it.

Watermelon is also an unusually good subject. It is already a large fruit, so the leap to monumental is short, and the green-and-pink cross-section is instantly readable at speed from a car.

The market is currently operating. The record marks access as restricted, since this is private commercial property. The maker, dimensions and installation date are not recorded.