Big Merino ready to go

Big Merino – the most colossal statue of a ram in the world – is about to be trucked down the road to a different site in Goulburn, NSW, Australia, where he will stand tall to draw more tourists.

The 15 metre tall, 18 metre long, four metre wide concrete and steel statue weighing 96 tonnes will be jacked on to a low-loader truck and driven under escort 800 metres down the road to the site of a petrol station and diner on Saturday, May 26.

There the colossal Merino sheep will stand near the Hume Highway in clear view of passing tourists, never to be overlooked again.

Big Merino has been standing beside the old Hume Highway, now renamed Hume Street, since he was constructed there in 1985 but he has been somewhat overlooked since the highway was reconstructed to bypass Goulburn in 1992.

Fewer busloads of tourists have been visiting the colossus since the rerouting of the highway.

Big Merino has contained a souvenir shop on the ground floor and a wool display on the second floor. These closed in late April for the move and will reopen by August after being set up at the new location.

Tourists and local visitors have been visiting the Big Merino attraction for more than 20 years. They have been climbing into the head of the sheep and looking out through its eyes to view the surroundings.

New owners of the big ram, Robert Rampton, Frazer Roberts and Steve Jones, of Goulburn Building Product Pty Ltd and Printrose Pty Ltd, are determined to overcome the logistics of moving their statue, which is as high as a four-storey building and as wide as a country road, from its present site to the site of a Mobil service station and Subway diner.

They have teams of experts to help them do it, including: architects, engineers and transporters to plan and undertake the move; state police and staff of the local council and state traffic authority to manage road traffic and detours during the move; linesmen of the electricity company to take down power lines to make way for the colossal statue; and representatives of Workcover authority to look after the safety of employees on the job.

Rex J. Andrews Pty Ltd transporters and mechanical engineers, of Penrith in NSW, and Dutaillis Architects, of Goulburn, have planned the big move and Andrews will be moving the statue.

The area of Hume St along which the statue will be carried will be treated as a construction site on the day.
The four legs of the steel framed, concrete skinned statue are embedded in a concrete base. They will be cut off at ground level so huge jacks can lift the statue.

The statue will then be lowered on to the low loader trailer, which has a capacity to carry up to 370 tonnes. The legs will be welded to the truck to prevent the load slipping.

The statue will be driven down the street to its new site where its steel legs will be reinforced and embedded in concrete.

There the colossal and realistic looking ram will be repaired and its souvenir shop and display room refurbished as a world-class tourist attraction.

Builder Glen Senner, of Glenn Industries based in Adelaide, took six months to build Big Merino using tradesmen of Goulburn. They designed the sheep statue to the exact proportions of a ram, built a steel frame as a skeleton, covered it with wire mesh, shaped it like a ram, sprayed it with a concrete skin then sculptured the fine details which help make it look so realistic.

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Media contacts: -

Stephen Matthew Jones
Mobile: 0418 370 346
Work phone number: 02 4822 8358
jonessm@tpg.com.au

Robert Leigh Rampton
Mobile: 0418 482 202

Frazer Andrew Roberts
Mobile: 0418 482 209

Goulburn Building Product Pty Ltd and Printrose Pty Ltd
ABN: 49 571 592 939
Office Address: 87 Cowper Street, Goulburn, NSW 2580
Postal Address: PO Box 1277, Goulburn, NSW 2580
Office Phone Number: 02 4822 8358
Office Fax Number: 02 4822 8363
Email: jonessm@tpg.com.au

http://www.wbpublicity.com.au/merino/merino.htm