The Big Potato? More like The PIG Potato! Robertson’s super-sized spud has undergone a oink-errific makeover, painted to look like a swine in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the hit film Babe.

But, like an ageing celebrity with too much botox, this hot pink pastiche of pork and potato can’t escape his murky brown past.

The 10-metre-wide, four-metre-tall Big Potato was carefully crafted by local farmer Jim Mauger and unleashed on a gobsmacked public in 1977. Modelled after the scrumptious Sebago style of spud, the beguiling Big was designed to house a vegetable museum that, tragically, never eventu-tatered.

Round, brown and bumpy, he wasn’t the most glamorous Big ever made – and that was part of his appeal. People admired and reviled him in equal measure, and some wags even dubbed him The Big Poo.

Honestly, guys, if your bowel movements look like that, it might be time to see a doctor.

Heather and Neil Tait acquired The Big Potato in 2014 and worked hard to promote him as a celebrity in his own right. Their supermarket, located right next door, offered a wide range of Potato magnets, stickers and tea towels. I bought a delightful Spud t-shirt during my visit.

Of course, I’ll probably have to get a Big Pig shirt now – time to raid the piggy bank!

You say Potato, I say Pig-tato

Caring for an enormous vegetable is hard work, and so in 2020 Heather and Neil put the tater on the market for just $920,000 – that’s cheap as chips! He finally sold, along with the supermarket, in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, and it looked like everyone would live spuddily ever after.

“The new owner wants to keep it looking as nice as it is now, which is good to know,” Neil told reporters at the time.

And that was true… for a while. The porky paintjob brought in a slew of Babe fanatics when it was unveiled in 2025. The newly-christened Pig Potato became a media darling, and the Southern Highlands witnessed a tourist boom.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the new look. The mural covers up what made the potato great. It’s like slapping a coat of Taubmans on the Sistine Chapel.

Yes, it was a pleasant detour, but it’s not the 30th anniversary of Babe anymore. It’s time to bring back the brown – before it’s too late.

Late in 2025 the new owner, wanting to expand the supermarket, put in an application to move the potato/pig hybrid. Thankfully, the council rejected the application. The goliath was safe.

For now.

Enjoy The Big Potato (or The Pig Potato) whilst you still can. Sit next to him, thoughtfully munching on a pie, watching the sunlight dance on his sensual curves. Take selfies with him. Hug him. Kiss him. Worship the very ground he sits upon. Because one day soon, I fear, it’ll be see ya later, Pig Potater.