Mildura becomes home of the Big Sultana

Towering more than 5 metres above a park in Victoria's north-west is a large shrivelled brown sculpture with a beaming smile.The Big Sultana in Mildura has been unveiled as Australia's newest big thing.The monolithic fibreglass fruit has been erected along Mildura's riverfront precinct to celebrate 100 years of dried fruit production in the Sunraysia region.The sculpture, which is 5.25 metres tall and weighs 1,250 kilograms, is 525 times the size of an average sultana, and took 13 weeks to build. It has been placed along Mildura's riverfront precinct at Nowingi Place near Ornamental Lakes Park. Sultanas are not known for their visual appeal but this one is very cheerful. (ABC News: Sarah Buchecker)Why a cartoon sultana?The Sunraysia region is Australia's biggest dried fruit and dried grape producing region.More than 300 growers produce dried grapes across 3,500 hectares of land in north-west Victoria and south-west New South Wales.Sunbeam general manager Elizabeth Miller knew creating the Big Sultana to celebrate the centenary would appeal to the Australian sense of humour.The Big Sultana stares towards customers of a nearby shipping container cafe. (ABC News: Sarah Buchecker)She acknowledged the risk of creating something that could be mistaken for something not so edible."We think it looks like a sultana, but we're willing to laugh along with anyone else that, you know, wants to sort of have a bit of a joke about it," she said."We wanted the sultana to really just look as much like a sultana as possible with the colour, the shape and the wrinkles."A man reads information on the plinth beneath the Big Sultana. (ABC News: Sarah Buchecker)She said adding a beaming cartoonish smile was intended to increase its appeal to passers-by and tourists alike."They're meant to bring a smile to people's faces. They're meant to be a little bit of fun," she said. "We want to be respectful of the industry and the community, but we're also able to kind of see the funny side."A tourism drawcard?Mildura Deputy Mayor Helen Healy said the Big Sultana would appeal to children and families."The dried fruit industry was one of the first industries in Australia to develop the cooperative model and we are very proud of that legacy," Cr Healy said."This gift to the community … is a fun tribute to our proud local cultural heritage. We hope it sparks conversation and interest in our agricultural history."Mildura-Wentworth Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Alexander said it would help people learn where Australia's sultana packets come from."We’ve already got Big Lizzie, the Big Orange and the Big Yabby over at Wentworth — and now we’ve got the Big Sultana," Mr Alexander said.Tracey May (centre) poses in front of the Big Sultana with Gayle Metcalfe and Brooke May. (ABC News: Sarah Buchecker)"It’s a bit of fun, but it also tells an important story."Positive reactionsMost onlookers who caught a glimpse of the finished product prior to its unveiling were impressed."I reckon it's really cute, good for the kids," Tracey May said.Mildura's Big Sultana. (ABC News: Sarah Buchecker)"They'll smile every time they look at it with the big smile he's got."Another passer-by, Cos, said he thought it was fitting for the region."We're probably one of the few places that still produces sultanas, so it probably is pretty fitting, we were the biggest producer for a long, long time and I think we still are," he said.Andrew, who spotted the sculpture while eating lunch nearby, said it would complement other attractions along the Mildura riverfront."With everything we have down at the riverfront with the lights, the stage and the eatery here, it all adds one to the other to the other," he said.