State-Funded Yabby Statue Targets Outback Tourism

A $13,000 state-funded yabby statue has been unveiled in Windorah, where Barcoo Shire mayor Sally O'Neil hopes the public investment will persuade tourists to stay an extra day. The 4.6-metre sculpture stands on Albert Street in the western Queensland town, 1,200 kilometres north-west of Brisbane. Windorah has a population of 100.

O'Neil said the project aims to support tourism and economic development in communities out west. “Hopefully it'll pull the tourists up and they may hang around an extra day ... it's good for economic development of the communities out west,” she said. The hoped-for return depends on visitors staying longer, but the article gives no projected visitor numbers or spending figures.

Public money, local hopes

The council unveiled the statue at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Albert Street. O'Neil said Windorah is best known for its “international yabby races,” a feature of the town's annual social calendar. She also described the local connection to the crustacean through Cooper Creek: “[At] Cooper Creek ... you will pull up, go fishing, and you're bound to get a yabby or two, or five or more.”

The state-funded project turns a local symbol into a roadside attraction. The council commissioned the work to draw tourists and encourage an extra day's stay. O'Neil connected that hoped-for spending to economic development in the region, but no specific jobs, business earnings or other financial returns were reported.

The artist's work

Toowoomba artist Jobella Bennett built the sculpture from bird wire and sheet metal over three months. It's the largest artwork she's made. Bennett took on the project after she began hosting classes in the central west. “I got rung up and they [the council] were like, 'Could you make a yabby?'” she said. “And I was like, 'Yeah, how big?'” The response was: “As big as you can make it.”

Bennett said, “It's my first big project, I learned a lot.” Before starting work, she researched yabbies and said she hoped to make more “big things.” The source doesn't state how much she was paid or set out the project's contract terms.

Bennett also said communities should support artists. “There's so many amazing artists out there and it's really nice that councils or the communities or whoever's organised it is actually backing artists,” she said. In Windorah, the council's commission gave Bennett her first big project and created a large public artwork, while the hoped-for tourism benefit remains a stated goal.

A growing roadside tradition

Windorah's yabby joins Australian roadside attractions including Ballina's big prawn, Cardwell's big crab, Bowen's big mango, Tully's big gumboot and Woombye's big pineapple. University of the Sunshine Coast history lecturer Amy Clarke said “big things” are common in Canada and the United States, while Australia continues to build more.

“Australia is still pedal to the floor, kind of, 'Let's build as many of them as we can,'” Clarke said. She said Australian statues often reflect community involvement, unlike the commercial incentive behind many American statues. Chambers of commerce, local councils or charities may join forces to celebrate a town and attract visitors, she said.

Clarke said the trend began in the 1960s and has become more official over time. “We've now seen over time a professionalisation of big things,” she said, pointing to companies and professional fibreglass artists who specialise in making giant objects. She added that the works are intended to be artistic. Windorah's project combines public funding, a council commission and a tourism objective; the hoped-for economic effect is an extra day from visiting tourists.