[4] The owners are also embarking on a master planning process through community consultation to further rejuvenate the Big Pineapple experience, with a range of new attractions and services proposed.

It holds a fond place in the memories of many domestic and overseas tourists who drove or were driven north of Brisbane on holiday road trips after 1971.

Big Things have been called outdoor cultural objects which serve to construct and assert the identity of a town or area, and they have also been described as one of Australia's most distinctive home-grown forms of folk art.

In the early 1860s Edmund Lander leased the Mooloolah Back Plains run around the future site of Nambour, and timber getters started to exploit the area, working inland along waterways.

The Alienation of Crown Lands Act 1868 also stimulated settlement, and by 1871 the census recorded 104 people living and working in the Maroochy region, although only 31 were permanent settlers.

Large producers also grew less of the crop around Palmwoods than in the Mary Valley and Glasshouse areas, which reflected the trend towards small farms in the Maroochy Shire.

More car travel also led to more garages and fuel stops, and motels and caravan parks were built to accommodate those families taking to the roads for their ever-lengthening holidays.

The Maroochy Shire Council and the Queensland Government supported the venture, and on 15 August 1971 the plantation was opened by the State Minister for Labour and Tourism, John Herbert.

[1] The capacity of the facilities was tested from the opening, and modest expansions of the restaurant, market and sugar cane train occurred in the early years of operation.

[1] Authenticity was demonstrated by the plantation being a working farm, and by its links to and partnerships with local grower co-operatives, industry associations and significant institutions such as the Moreton Central Sugar Mill, the Golden Circle Cannery, the Committee of Direction of Fruit Marketing (COD), the Sugar Board, CSR limited, Buderim Ginger Factory, and the Australian Macadamia Nut Society.

[1] As acknowledgement of the Taylors' achievements, on 12 March 1972 the Australian National Travel Association presented the Sunshine Plantation with the first annual award for tourist development in Queensland.

[1] The Sunshine Plantation expanded in 1976 when Taylor Family Investments Pty Ltd purchased eight hectares of land from Keith and Ailsa Heinrich, to the west of the original attraction.

[1] At 3am on 11 September 1978 an early morning fire completely destroyed the building which housed the tropical market and restaurant next to the Big Pineapple, following an attempted burglary.

In February 1979 the 10.2 hectares (25 acres) future site of the Nut Factory and the Big Macadamia was purchased from the Heinrichs by Sunshine Land Nominees Pty Limited.

1988 witnessed the construction of the Tomorrow's Harvest hydroponics farm, a large greenhouse which displayed innovative technology, and RAPS Night Time family restaurant opened in June that year.

In 1993 the tornedo-damaged roof of Tomorrow's Harvest was replaced, Plantations Restaurant received a colonial-themed makeover, and punkahs (mechanical fans) were added to the upstairs retail area.

Roughend Pineapple Party Ltd became the new owner of the complex in July 1996, and a Wildlife Garden featuring koalas and other Australian native animals had opened in April that year.

According to the National Trust of Queensland, the items selected "inherently represent an important part of our history or will have contributed to our cultural identity and will have won a lasting place in our minds and memories."

In late August 2011 the Big Pineapple complex and its surrounding farmland was sold to a consortium that has maintained it as a tourism attraction and market hub for Queensland produce, following extensive repair of the visitor area.

[11] As at early 2017, the Big Pineapple was still updating attractions, with the popular music festival continuing well, with the new owners also undertaking whole of site master planning and community consultation.

[10] In February 2017, the Big Pineapple was selected to host a Midnight Oil concert, as part of a reunion tour which took place in October 2017, seen by promoters as linking two Aussie 1980s icons.

Associated structures to the east include tram tracks, two tour stations, and a ticket office for the plantation train; a machinery shed, an animal nursery, a lagoon, and a koala enclosure.

On level two there is an arrangement of Golden Circle Cannery products including cans of pineapple pieces and bottles of cordial and fruit juice.

The uniqueness of the project was well documented in the contemporary local press and other promotional and tourist material as well as in the newsletters and annual reports of various agricultural industry associations.

[1] In addition, the complex reflects a response to the increased use of motor cars for family holidays in Australia since World War II and the associated development of tourist attractions to cater for this.

The Big Pineapple complex is important in demonstrating the characteristics of an agri-tourism attraction combining the entertainment of tourists with the promotion of the features, facilities and industries of the region.

[1] Accommodating a nationally recognised iconic "Big Thing" the complex combines leisure and retail activities and attractions with educational displays and experiences.

The panoramic layout of the plantation is designed to show visitors from vantage points around the main building complex the diversity of crops grown in the region.

Positioned on the crest of a hill overlooking the motorway, the Big Pineapple structure is important as a landmark, strikingly visible to passing traffic and provides sweeping views of the surrounding landscape.

Within the Big Pineapple complex the plantation's sloping terrain, rainforest and selection of crops provide pleasing vistas for visitors as they tour the place.