Wotif which provides reservations for hotels is running a competition where towns across Australia compete to get some sort of large monument along the lines of the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, the Big Merino at Goulburn, the Big Pineapple and the Big Macadamia at Nambour in Queensland, the Big Cow at Kulangoor or the Big Golden Guitar in Tamworth.

The council has decided to apply, with the deadline for applications on September 18. It told wotif’s publicity company that it was a “great idea”.

The company told the council: “we are gifting a new tourist attraction to an Australian city, town or suburb to encourage Aussies to travel locally.

“Getting involved in this initiative is a great way to promote your local area, with potential exposure to a national audience including media outlets, social media engagement and other marketing channels”.

A short-list will be drawn up of towns which have applied, including Glen Innes, with voting on the winning application towards the end of the month.

The winner is expected to be announced before the end of the year.

The managing director of the company, Daniel Finch, said: “We know from our research that 40 per cent of Australians wish there were more ‘Big Things’ to visit and more than a quarter have their own great ideas for new ‘Big Things’ that can be built”.

Re the Big Kilt, the answer to what you’re thinking is: we don’t know.