Big Beer Can is the best

A popular vote has seen Cobar’s Big Beer Can win the title of ‘The Best Big Attraction in Australia’.

The ‘Grand Can’ was announced as the winner on Friday morning of an online Facebook competition poll run by Let’s Go Caravan and Camping.

Cobar Shire Council’s tourism manager Demi Smith was thrilled with the news that Cobar’s Big Beer Can had outvoted South Australia’s Big Lobster at Kingston in the final 50.1 per cent to 49.9 per cent.

“This is brilliant,” Demi told The Cobar Weekly on Friday.

“I think this could be something that can help to really put us on the tourism map.”

On the way to the final, the Big Beer Can knocked out the Northern Territory’s The Big Boxing Crocodile in Round 1 (by a 75-25 per cent margin), took out our near neighbour, Nyngan’s Big Bogan, in Round 2 (51-49), before shooting down The Big Ned Kelly at Glenrowan in Victoria in Round 3 (62-38) to earn a spot in the final.

Over 44,000 votes were cast for 16 big icons in the Australia-wide competition with over 15,500 of those votes going to Cobar.

Demi said while lots of Cobar residents had voted in the poll, they were however only allowed to vote once in each round.

“It just goes to show how a community with passion can drive something.

“There’s been lots of shares and lots of tagging with people commenting they need to come and visit when we’re allowed to travel again,” Demi said.

Built in 1990 as a tourism initiative of the Grand Hotel licencees at the time, Chris Condon and Peter Payne, Cobar’s Big Beer was constructed locally by KML Industries at a cost of around $10,000.

Built in KML’s yard, it was as tall as the workshop at 5m high, was 2.5m wide and when it was hoisted atop of the Grand Hotel in June that year, it originally had a Tooheys Draught (white) label.

It reportedly found a place in the 1991 Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Largest Beer Can, dwarfing the former holder which was located in Munich, Germany.

Cobar’s Big Beer Can (double the height of Germany’s) can hold the equivalent of 79,398 middies and one seven ounce beer, or 22,000 litres.

Demi is hoping that now that it’s once again in the tourism spotlight, the Big Beer Can can have a freshen up and Council is looking at ways to further promote the icon.