The structure was the brainchild of brothers, Attila and Louis Mokany, whose parents had migrated to Australia from Hungary in the 1950s. Their first venture into ‘Big Things’ had been the Big Merino at Goulburn, followed by the Big Prawn at Ballina and, finally, the Big Oyster which was opened in 1990.

It now sits atop a car dealership but is still a great symbol of the flourishing oyster industry located within the town’s Manning River.