23/08/2026
As part of our work at the iconic Big Pineapple, we’ve had the opportunity to bring a pretty special piece of its history back to life, the original-style punkah fan system.
The punkahs were introduced during a major refurbishment of the Big Pineapple in 1993, when the upstairs retail area was upgraded with evaporative cooling, new lighting, decorative façades and the suspended mechanical fan system.
Unlike a traditional ceiling fan, a punkah uses large suspended paddles that move slowly back and forth, creating a gentle movement of air through the space, a design with a history stretching back centuries.
The system became such a distinctive part of the Big Pineapple interior that it is specifically documented in the heritage description of the building as a “suspended motorised fan system (a punkah)” running along the ceiling.
The Big Pineapple, formerly Sunshine Plantation, has been State Heritage-listed since 2009 and is recognised as an important part of Queensland's tourism history and one of the state's earliest and best-known examples of agri-tourism.
More than 30 years after the punkahs were first installed, we're helping give this little piece of Big Pineapple history another chapter.
Keeping the old character, bringing it back to life and making sure some of the details people remember are still there for the next generation. 🍍
A little bit of 1993, restored for 2026.
