, circa 2006The Big Apple was conceived by George Boycott, an Australian immigrant to Canada who took inspiration from the
Big Pineapple in
Sunshine Coast Region,
Queensland. Boycott sold the six pizza shops he owned in Australia and moved to Colborne in 1976, the village being one of the largest apple-producing areas in Ontario. Boycott sold real estate in Ontario to fund the construction of the Big Apple. In 1983 he met Henry Mensen, a local builder, with whom Boycott planned the construction of the Big Apple over the next five years. The Big Apple opened in 1987, with its construction costs covered through a combination of a government loan and investment by Doug Rutherford, the owner of a local trucking company. Boycott sold his stake in the Big Apple in 1992, and began to pursue a career in real estate and local politics; he served in several government positions over the subsequent fourteen years, including as the final
reeve of Colborne prior to its amalgamation with Cramahe in 2001. In 2013, a cartoon face was painted on the Big Apple. In April 2020, amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, the Big Apple donated hundreds of apple pies to hospital workers. In July 2020, a
face mask was hung on the Big Apple in a show of support for front-line workers. ==Operations==