About this episode
The episode explores the origins of Australia's Big Things through the eyes of artist Paul Kelly and his daughter Christobel Kelly.
In 1963, a giant Scotsman sculpture appeared outside the Scotty Motel in Adelaide, in South Australia. A banana, a koala, and even a potato soon followed, paving the way for the country’s beloved Big Things - one of Australia’s quirkiest cultural phenomena. Paul Kelly was the artist behind both the Big Scotsman and the equally iconic Big Lobster. He and his daughter, Christobel Kelly, tell Stefania Gozzer how each sculpture came to life. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar…
People in this episode
Host: Stefania Gozzer
Guests: Paul Kelly, Christobel Kelly
Topics covered
- Australian culture
- sculpture
- quirky phenomena
- art history
- personal stories
Keywords
- Big Scotsman
- Big Lobster
- Paul Kelly
- Christobel Kelly
- Australian art
- sculptures
- quirky culture
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Big Scotsman, Big Lobster
Places: Adelaide, South Australia
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