I found this huge Golden Orb Spider or Golden Orb Weaver out in the park yesterday. It had built a huge orb web, stretching about 5m across and about 3m tall. The spider itself was over 15cms long and was sitting, alert, at the middle of the web. It had position a leg on each of the main strands of the web waiting to feel if an insect became caught in the sticky strands.
While not particularly dangerous to humans (the bite causes localised swelling and pain), the venom is potent enough to disarm insects, moths and possibly small birds.
