The story of Canberra's latest 'big thing': Albert the fish

Haven't heard of Albert?

If you've driven along the Majura Parkway in the past six weeks you are sure to have spotted him. However, you probably didn't know that the 11 metre fish sitting high and dry on the side of a dam on the eastern side of the road is called Albert.

While Albert is set to mark his 28th birthday this year, it's only in the past month or so that he has risen to piscatorial prominence.

Commissioned by the ACT government for the 1996 Floriade Festival, Albert was lovingly created by sculptor Tony Steel and several of his colleagues from the ANU School of Art.

Shortly afterwards, Albert was donated to the Belconnen Fresh Food Markets where he was destined to live a happy fishy retirement watching Canberrans shop for their weekly fresh produce for the rest of his life.

But that all changed early last year when the markets began to be extensively refurbished. With no place for Albert in the new-look market layout, he needed to be relocated.

Luckily for Albert, Fred McGrath Weber of Majura Valley Free Range Eggs came to the rescue and reeled him in.

"In the Majura Valley we see the parkway as a vista and a viewing platform for people visiting the bush capital to really have an experience as to what Canberra is all about - the bush capital, the art, the agriculture - and Albert is very much a welcome part of that picture," asserts Fred.

Apart from being a young farm entrepreneur, Fred also has a soft spot for sculptures, graduating in 2018 from the Australian National University with a bachelor of commerce, majoring in marketing, and a bachelor of visual arts, majoring in, you guessed it, sculpture.

In fact, Fred is the creative genius behind those two adorable roosting hens that perch on the fence at their farm gate store on Majura Road.

He's also created two giant steel eggbeaters (well, it is an egg farm after all) that take pride of place in the garden of his family home, the circa 1840 Majura House, the ACT's oldest continuous working farm.

Further, hidden amongst the branches of the weeping willow in the farm's dam is Anglerfish, his striking sculpture "based loosely on the anglerfish that lurks in the murky depths of the most inhospitable habitats on Earth". Erected in 2011, its mouth is now full of twigs and leaves.

Fred reveals that after he first hung it in the tree, he'd often fill its mouth, an old cement mixer with sharp teeth, "with random objects and debris to show that it's always consuming things".

"So, I'm stoked that a bird has finally decided [to make its] home inside it," he remarks, adding, "it shows the sculpture has nested well into the environment."

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But back to Albert.

Due to Albert's colossal size, he was transported from Belconnen in four pieces. And being a busy farmer, Fred didn't get a chance to put him back together during much of 2023.

Enter John Wilson, who runs Liquor Legends in Hawker and Charnwood and who thought the giant fish would make the perfect prop in a competition where he was attempting to lure his customers to try to win a fishing trip to Queensland.

So, early last month, along with one of his sons and an eager staff member, John reassembled Albert to his former dignity.

"We didn't even realise he had a tail, until we bolted it on," John reveals, adding, "we ended up painting the tail fluoro yellow and gave other parts of him a spruce-up."

To complete the fishing scene, John added a seated mannequin, complete with a fishing rod.

And the pièce de résistance?

"Solar lights so passers-by can appreciate Albert by day or night," John reveals.

Albert is already turning heads, and over recent weeks several missives have landed in this column's inbox lauding the Big Fish, including from Robin Jackson, of Ainslie.

"Thanks so much to the whoever created this," gushes Robin, adding "I love it."

Fred's mum, Anne McGrath, explains, "Creating landmarks like Albert is another way the public can connect with our farm. Already people drive past and comment 'Oh they've moved the chickens to another paddock, or they've planted more trees along there'.

"Although the farm dates back to the 1840s, we've lived here since 1999, but even though we aren't related to original families we think it's important to keep the history of the farm alive," she explains.

While Fred and his mum appreciate the attention Albert brings to their farm, they also see him as a symbol of the entire Majura Valley.

"The future of the valley is currently up in the air with discussion of land use changing to industrial, so engagement like this, which is more in keeping with the environment and for the community to enjoy and make connections, is important," Fred says.

While Anne views the mannequin as a welcome addition, she is beginning to have second thoughts about its ... err ... um ... unclothed status.

"We need to look after him - perhaps we will give him a fishing vest and some shorts, so he looks even more the part," she muses.

Given the limelight the mannequin is attracting, not to mention exposure to the harsh summer sun, it may also need a hat and pair of sunnies. Oh, and I think he or she also needs a name. Any suggestions?

Fishy matters: Albert the Big Fish is best viewed when travelling south on the Majura Parkway. He is located on the southern side of the horseshoe-shaped dam (the dam was cut in half by the construction of the parkway 11 years ago), about 2km before the Ikea turn-off.

Size does matter: There are more than 10 "Big Fish" in Australia. While others may be better known, measuring in at more than 11 metres nose to tail, Albert is bigger than most, including his closest geographical competitor, the Big Trout at Adaminaby, which measures at 10 metres. Meanwhile, the much-lauded Big Murray Cod at Tocumwal comes in at a relatively puny 6 metres in length.

Top 5 ACT Big Things: While the ACT doesn't boast any of Australia's iconic Big Things like the Big Banana at Coffs Harbour, we still have our fair share of oversized roadside attractions. With Albert at the top of my pecking order, these four make up my top five.

Rating: Hard

Clue: This top-secret causeway spans the Molonglo River, but where?

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to tym@iinet.net.au. The first correct email sent after 10am, Saturday, January 13, wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.

Last week: Congratulations to Roger Shelton, of Spence, who was the first reader to identify last week's photo (above), sent in via Kevin Mulcahy, of Tura Beach, as the former Cobargo District Cooperative Creamery Butter Company taken in the early 1900s. The original building was burned down in 1927 and replaced by the current one on the Cobargo-Bermagui Road.

Every time Colin Price, of Giralang, drives past this old tree stump on the western side of Gundaroo Road, 5km south of Gunning, it brings a smile to his face. "To me it is either a craggy old guy shouting, or a bear with a human head!" he exclaims.

Meanwhile, on a recent adventure to Yarrangobilly Caves in Kosciuszko National Park, Jasper Lilley, of Canberra, was shocked to see the face of a man with a long nose staring at him from the walls of the South Glory Cave.

Considering that the lofty limestone chambers of this cave system are some 440 million years old, his brother Gus, 12, declared that "he must be the oldest cave man in the whole world".

He's a bit hard to see so I've circled him.

CONTACT TIM: Email: tym@iinet.net.au or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, GPO Box 606, Civic, ACT, 2601