When it comes to 10 australian tourist wonders that began as a prank, Australia’s cheeky sense of humour takes centre stage. From a rust‑covered submarine tucked into a country park to a tiny bikini‑clad mannequin beckoning motorists, these attractions prove that a little laugh can turn into a lasting draw for visitors.
10 Australian Tourist Highlights
10 Submarine In An Inland Park
A rural Australian park is the last place you would expect to find a submarine. Yet the HMAS Otway now sits as a major attraction in Holbrook, New South Wales, a town renamed in 1915 after Lieutenant Norman Holbrook, the first submariner to receive the Victoria Cross during World War I.
Like many small towns bypassed by new highways in the 1990s, Holbrook’s residents were hunting for a unique draw to pull passing travellers into town. When the mayor floated the idea of acquiring a submarine, locals initially thought it was a gag. However, the notion of honoring their own VC‑winning submariner quickly gained traction.
Through vigorous community fundraising and a generous bequest from the Holbrook family, the upper sections of the outer hull and the fins of the decommissioned HMAS Otway were purchased.
The vessel was transported to Germanton Park, where it now anchors a popular submarine museum. Inside, a mock interior lets visitors glimpse life beneath the waves, making the once‑joking concept a beloved landmark.
9 Mad Max 2 Museum
We all have a favourite film that we can’t get enough of, and some of us even become collectors of memorabilia. One man’s passion drove him half a world away to open a museum in the most unlikely of places.
Scenes from the early Mad Max movies were filmed in the remote New South Wales outback near the sparsely‑populated town of Silverton – a settlement that recorded just 50 residents in the 2016 census. In 2009, English‑born Adrian Bennett arrived in Silverton, fueled by his obsession with Mad Max 2.
He began amassing genuine props, relics and other pieces of movie history. Over time, his collection grew into a full‑scale museum where Mad Max fans can not only view the artifacts but also learn about the film’s production on the very landscape that served as its backdrop.
8 Utes In The Paddock
The Holden Ute is an Australian icon, a workhorse spotted all over the bush. In the outback town of Condobolin, a quirky outdoor gallery showcases well‑known Aussie icons, all rendered using the Holden Ute as the artistic medium.
Years ago, a local landowner decided to transform a rusted Ute into a piece of art. Artists were invited to repurpose the battered car bodies, creating installations that now draw tourists each year. Twenty Utes are either upended or suspended at daring angles, depicting bush life and legendary characters.
Visitors can spot Australian figures such as Clancy of the Overflow and Dame Edna Everage perched on a traditional “dunny.” Other highlights include an oversized Bundaberg Rum bottle and a massive jar of Vegemite. Originally sited on a remote property 30 km from town, the display has since been relocated to the outskirts for easier access.
7 The Principality Of Hutt River
Every town has its eccentric characters, but one West Australian farmer’s determination to secede from the Commonwealth has turned into a quirky tourist magnet. A bureaucratic dispute over agricultural taxes in 1970 spurred Leonard Casley to declare his own country, the Principality of Hutt River, on his 75‑square‑kilometre property near Geraldton.
The Australian government never recognised the micronation’s sovereignty, yet “Prince Leonard” kept his own postage stamps and currency until his death in 2019. Even Queen Elizabeth II sent a congratulatory letter on the principality’s 46th anniversary, clearly enjoying the jest. Leonard abdicated in 2017, passing the title to his son Graeme, who continues to rule.
The town of Nain serves as the principality’s administrative centre. Tourists can collect a special passport stamp from Hutt River while exploring historic displays that celebrate this self‑styled sovereign state.
6 Gnomesville
A cheeky community protest over proposed council roadworks snowballed into a quirky tourist draw for the West Australian town of Wellington Mill.
When the council announced controversial plans to build a roundabout in 1995, a few mischievous residents “claimed the plot” by placing garden gnomes on the proposed site as a joke. The prank quickly caught on, and the gnomes multiplied. Today, an estimated 5,000 gnomes call “Gnomesville” home, turning the spot into an unlikely attraction.
Visitors will find gnomes enjoying almost every pastime—fishing, music, sport—while tourists are encouraged to add their own marked gnome to the ever‑growing collection.
5 Tantanoola Tiger
A taxidermied “tiger” locked in a glass case, once blamed for a livestock‑killing spree, now draws curious visitors to the small South Australian town of Tantanoola.
During the 1890s, an unknown creature terrorised local livestock, with reports of sheep being devoured whole and footprints ten centimetres across circulating in the national press. Locals feared the predator might turn on humans, dubbing it the “Tantanoola Tiger” after sightings of a striped feline in surrounding bushland.
A hefty reward was offered, and several hunting parties attempted to capture the beast. Casts of the paw prints suggested a wild dog rather than a tiger. In 1895, the creature was finally shot and killed. Though initially thought to be a tiger, further analysis revealed it to be an Arabian wolf, a species whose presence in Tantanoola remains a mystery.
A taxidermist preserved the animal, and it now sits behind glass at the Tantanoola Tiger Hotel near Mount Gambier. The “tiger” even became the mascot for the local football team in the early 20th century, cementing its place in regional folklore.
4 There’s A Bear In There!
A winding stretch of highway linking inland New South Wales with the South Coast is an unlikely spot for a children’s attraction, yet it hosts the whimsical Pooh Bear’s Corner.
Like many of Australia’s quirky sites, the corner sprang from one family’s imagination. In the early 1970s, a Crookwell family discovered a disused cave halfway down Clyde Mountain during trips to the coast. They concocted a tale that the cave was home to A.A. Milne’s Winnie‑the‑Pooh, delighting their children.
The parents began leaving stuffed bears and handwritten signs at the site. The idea caught on, and others added bears, turning the spot into “Pooh Bear’s Corner.” Eventually, the local council erected a permanent sign, and today children and the young‑at‑heart still hunt for the teddy bears gathering in the cave as they descend the mountain.
3 Bungendore Teddy Bear Colony
Along the Kings Highway that runs from Bungendore to Queanbeyan, just outside Canberra, a quirky roadside attraction features teddy bears dangling from trees for several kilometres.
The first bears appeared in the late 1980s. Since then, the colony’s population has outpaced even the native koala numbers in the area. Visitors regularly add their own bears to the growing collection.
The origin story remains hazy. Some suggest the bears were placed to protest tree‑removal threatening koala habitats, while others believe they serve as a memorial to a young motorcyclist who died tragically. Regardless of its beginnings, the bear colony continues to amuse and intrigue passing motorists.
2 Coila Prawn Girl
Driving along the Princes Highway between the southern NSW coastal towns of Moruya and Tuross, many motorists would have ignored the tiny fuel stop at Coila—until 2013, when a new owner introduced a bold, eye‑catching idea.
The “Coila Prawn Girl” has become a local icon. This bikini‑clad mannequin, tied to a roadside advertising sign, successfully lures drivers to stop, and has even made headlines after a few high‑profile abductions over recent years.
Tourists love snapping photos with the eccentric figure. The owner recently added a pink Cessna nose‑diving onto the tarmac, giving visitors an extra quirky photo opportunity and keeping the attraction fresh.
1 Doo
The very name of the Northern Territory outback town of Humpty‑Doo brings a grin to any visitor’s face. One local larrikin has taken this humour a step further.
Waldo Bayley, the town’s gift‑shop owner, also writes Australian bush poetry that pokes fun at everyone and everything. Rather than simply reciting his verses, he set up a traditional “bush dunny”—the small wooden outhouse once common in backyards across the country.
Bayley actually sits on the dunny to deliver his poetry from the depths of the “thunderbox,” turning an everyday structure into a performance space. What began as a joke now draws tourists eager to experience a uniquely Aussie blend of wit, verse and a touch of the outback.