Mere months after its last paint job, the Adaminaby icon is getting another lick of paint. Photo: Gail Eastaway.
After a makeover earlier this year, the Big Trout is going back to basics.
The local landmark underwent restoration works in late 2023 to mark its 50th birthday, but the updated paint scheme wasn’t appreciated by all.
The result was widely derided, with many taking to social media, posting criticisms such as “tragic”, “atrocious” and an “abomination”.
In response, Snowy Monaro Regional Council (SMRC) ran two polls to determine the final design of the fish.
In the final poll, Adaminaby residents and fans of the fish from further afield could cast their ballot for either Andy Lomnici’s original 1970s paint design or the most popular new option from the first round of consultation.
More than 2600 ballots were cast over the two rounds, with the original design coming in as the winner.
The new paint design proposed for Adaminaby’s Big Trout. Photo: Snowy Monaro Regional Council.
The giant fish was created by Mr Lomnici, a Hungarian-born artist who came to Australia in 1940 and worked as a teacher before he became a full-time artist based out of Adaminaby later in life.
He used a frozen trout as his model and sketched the design on the floor of the bowling club before constructing it from steel and fibreglass.
“Council appreciates the frank and honest feedback that we have received from our community during this restoration,” an SMRC spokesperson said.
The conservators have appointed a new specialist painter. The team will be on-site this week to apply another coat of paint to the 10-metre-tall fish.
If weather permits, the work should be completed by the end of June.
The fish was unveiled in 1973. It is one of the 150 ‘Big Things’ that can be found across the country, a list that includes the Big Merino in Goulburn, the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour and the Big Swoop in Canberra.
Original Article published by Claire Sams on About Regional.
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