Height
6 meters
Year Built
1996
Address
Warrego Highway, Roma, QLD 4455
The Lowdown
The Big Bottle Tree in Roma celebrates one of outback Queensland's most distinctive natural icons - the Queensland bottle tree with its swollen trunk that stores water during drought. This impressive sculpture captures the bottle tree's unique silhouette, with its bulging trunk tapering to a surprisingly delicate crown of branches. Bottle trees have sustained Indigenous Australians and early settlers during dry times, with their soft, fibrous trunks providing emergency water and stock feed. Roma, known as the 'biggest little town in Australia', sits in the heart of bottle tree country where these remarkable trees dot the landscape like natural sculptures. The Big Bottle Tree invites visitors to appreciate these ancient survivors of Australia's variable climate.
Did you know?
"Bottle trees can store hundreds of litres of water in their trunks"
History
The Big Bottle Tree was erected in 1996 to celebrate Roma's location in prime bottle tree country. Queensland bottle trees (Brachychiton rupestris) have adapted to survive drought by storing water in their swollen trunks. During dry times, early settlers would fell bottle trees to provide emergency feed and water for stock. Today they are protected and valued as unique elements of the Australian landscape.
More Fun Facts
- •Bottle trees can store hundreds of litres of water in their trunks
- •They can live for over 1,000 years
- •Early settlers used the soft trunk as emergency stock feed during drought
- •The trunk can expand and contract dramatically based on water availability
- •Queensland bottle trees are related to the boab trees of Western Australia
Visiting Tips
- 💡See real bottle trees along the highways around Roma
- 💡The Roma Heritage Precinct showcases local history
- 💡Roma was home to Australia's first natural gas strike (1900)
- 💡Easter in the Country is one of Queensland's best country music festivals
- 💡The Big Rig oil and gas museum is worth a visit
Opening Hours
The Big Bottle Tree can be viewed at any time.
More Big Things Nearby
Big Barramundi
A 6-metre long fibreglass barramundi celebrating Normanton's status as the 'Barramundi Capital of Australia'.
Big Golden Gumboot
A 7.9-metre tall golden fibreglass gumboot celebrating Tully as one of Australia's wettest towns.
Big Mango
A 10-meter tall, 7-tonne fibreglass tribute to Bowen's mango industry, famously 'stolen' by Nando's in 2014 for a viral marketing campaign.