THE world’s biggest freestanding lollipop will be built in Western Australia after a council unanimously approved the controversial plan following years of planning and the support of an Australian rock legend.
The 7.5-metre tall, four-metre wide structure will stand to the side of a sweet shop in Ravensthorpe, about 540km south-east of Perth, and is expected to set a Guinness World Record.
Shop owner Belinda Mcharg told AAP she wanted to attract tourists to Ravensthorpe after the community’s nickel mine shut down about two years ago and many businesses closed.
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READ NOW“I thought what can I do to help everybody? Then I thought why not build the largest freestanding lollipop?” she said on Wednesday.
Ms Mcharg has had the shop for three years and spent about 18 months working on the giant rainbow-coloured lollipop, which will have a bow that reads “Ravensthorpe”.
“It’s not about us, it’s about the community,” she said.
Musician Ian Moss even signed a petition backing the project amid division in the community, with some believing the structure would be a tacky eyesore.
Ms Mcharg said the famed singer-songwriter and Cold Chisel guitarist was on his way to a show in Albany in March when he stopped by to visit the shop and spent about 20 minutes there.
“I nearly had a heart attack. I’ve been following him for 40 years,” she said.
“He went to shake my hand and I said ‘no you don’t’ and I gave him a hug.”
Ms Mcharg hopes the lollipop structure will be ready by the end of August in time for the popular wildflower season.