One of the winners posing with the gigantic pumpkin.

An Australian fresh fruit and vegetable market used a forklift to move a gigantic pumpkin for its inaugural guess-its-weight competition.

Zone Fresh Gourmet Markets, in Windsor, Brisbane, held the competition for two weeks, attracting nearly 900 entries.

Zone Fresh manager Michael Roberts said many entrants had no concept of weight.
"One lady just put 40kg while others measured smaller pumpkins to try to guess the pumpkin's weight. We had two old ladies ask for each other's weight. One said she was 70kg and they multiplied that by two for their entry."

The pumpkin, grown by Queensland farmer Clinton McGrath, who rose to fame for growing Australia's biggest squash in 2004, tipped the scales at 212.79kg.

Roberts said McGrath had guaranteed him a bigger pumpkin next year for the competition, which would become an annual event.

According to pumpkinnook.com, the world record is held by Larry Checkon, of North Cambria, Pennsylvania, USA, for a 666kg pumpkin weighed on October 1, 2005, at the Pennsylvania Giant Pumpkin Growers Weighoff.