Australia to build fake Stonehenge for wine tourists

A general view of Stonehenge before sunrise on the day of the summer solstice, Wiltshire June 21, 2005.

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - An Australian brewer plans to build a replica of England's Stonehenge for wine tourists at Margaret River by the next summer solstice on December 21.

The structure, to be known as "The Henge", will be made with 2,500 metric tons of granite quarried from Esperance on the southwest Australian coast and will span 33 meters, local media reported.

"Nowhere in the world has a complete Stonehenge been built," Margaret River brewer Ross Smith told Australian Associated Press on Tuesday. "I've studied plans of the original and that's what The Henge will look like."

"I think it will attract a lot of tourists to the region, about 200,000 to 300,000 per year," he said.

But unlike the ancient original, which is off limits to tourists, the Aussie version of Stonehenge will be open to tourists and will be available for hire for weddings.

"From our point of view, it's a business venture," said Smith.

(Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Sophie Hardach)