Larry the Lobster immortalised in coin collection

Kingston’s Big Lobster has been immortalised in the latest limited edition coin collection from Australia Post celebrating the country’s “Big Things” including the Big Banana in New South Wales and Queensland’s Big Pineapple.

Member for MacKillop Nick McBride has a close family collection to the quirky seaside sculpture and welcomed the exposure for the Kingston landmark.

“It is such an honour to see “Larry” immortalised on our $1 coin,” Mr McBride said. “We are so lucky to have such an iconic tourist attraction in our region.

Many people won’t realise but Larry was actually built for Katherine McBride’s father, Ian Backler, and his friend, Rob Moyse. Katherine’s parents owned the adjacent ‘Big Lobster’ Motel – and thought it would be a great idea to have a giant lobster to attract tourists to the town. They also wanted the Lobster to be a gateway to the South East’s lucrative and important lobster industry.

“I doubt they would have ever thought that ‘Larry’ would make it onto a $1 coin – and I know that Katherine’s father will be immensely proud to see this happen.” Larry the Lobster and the other selected ‘big’ quirky sculptures dotted in towns around Australia have been printed on the gold coin and were available in participating post offices since last Tuesday.

Limited edition stamps cost $1.20, individual coins are $3 and the full coin set with a folder is $29 — and one in every 10 coin sets purchased will feature a coloured Giant Murray Cod coin.

The coins will also be used as change at participating Australia Post offices.

“Our ‘Big Things’ are colourful, entertaining and truly make their mark in so many local communities across Australia. We’re celebrating some of our most iconic ‘Big Things’ with this new coin collection, in partnership with the Royal Australian Mint,” Australia Post general manager Retail Product and Supply Chain Kayla Le Cornu said.