Home for sale with 5-metre clothes peg in front paddock

In the country where the Hills Hoist clothesline was invented, it is perhaps appropriate that there is a Big Peg. But the inspiration for one of Australia's more unusual "big" things was not home grown. Owner Peter Stacey came across a photo of a giant peg pinching the ground in Belgium and decided to replicate it. "When I saw it, I went, 'Oh that's just really clever', it made me laugh," he said. "I was sitting in a pub one day after work with two mates of mine … and I said, 'Mate, do you reckon you can make us a giant peg?'" "He goes, 'Yeah no worries, I'll do that for you.'" And so the 750-kilogram, 5.2-metre peg was created in a shed and installed on a property at Canowindra on the NSW Central Tablelands. The sculpture has been concreted into the soil since 2018 and attracted plenty of admirers. As one Google reviewer wrote: "Like the Big Banana and the Sistine Chapel, the peg is something that truly must be personally witnessed to understand its outstanding cultural value." But the property is now up for sale as the Staceys downsize — and its new owner can expect some interesting visitors. Community connects with the peg Michelle Stacey can remember waking up very early one morning to see headlights at their driveway. At first, she thought someone was turning around, before they drove up the track, turned off their headlights and parked. "Then I saw the boot opening and I thought, oh great, you know, out come some guns,"she said. "I'm starting to panic about the kids — Pete was on night shift — and then I remembered a gentleman was coming to film the peg with the night sky. "So I went back to bed." 'That's where we got married' Perhaps one of the most unique expressions of affection for the peg was using it as a wedding location. Amelia Francis said she felt an affinity for the quiet paddock each time she drove past, but it was not until the day of the wedding that they realised the ground was flat enough for the chairs to be lined up in front of the sculpture. "My husband was having a look around and he goes, 'We should do it in front of the peg,'" she said. "The Sun was in the perfect position — so it just happened on the day." Now the peg has secured a special place in her family's heart. "If we go past now, our little daughter knows that's where we got married,"Ms Francis said. "My nephews, every time they go past, it's like, 'That's where my aunty and uncle got married,' so it's quite sentimental." 'Emblem' of Canowindra President of the Canowindra Progress Association Tom Beath said everyone in the town had taken a liking to the artwork, which attracted visitors to the district. "It's a bit of an emblem for the local area," he said. "It's even registered on Google Maps, The Big Peg, and it pinpoints Canowindra." A bugbear of several Google reviewers was the lack of parking or a pull-over lane to admire the peg. "The position where it is is very awkward on the crest of a hill," Mr Beath said. "[But] where the road is there's no possibility of widening the road or anything else to have a viewing point. "It's a bit of a disadvantage but it is what it is." Mr Stacey said he "just laughs" at the commentary, which also critiques the, at times, overgrown lawn. "If people just drove past and went, 'Oh, that's a bit random, that's a bit funny,' and they're having a bit of a laugh or a smile … then it's done its purpose," he said. Ms Stacey hoped its next owner would relish its grandeur as much as they had. "We can't take it with us sadly, it's a bit big, so someone else can enjoy it,"she said.