List of New Zealand's big things

The big things of New Zealand are large novelty statues located in many small towns across the country which typically relate to the town and its identity.[1] Examples include the Taihape gumboot, in a town which has an annual gumboot-throwing contest; the large L&P bottle in Paeroa, the town where the drink originated, and the Big Sheep Shearer in Te Kūiti, where the national sheep-shearing competitions are held. A similar tradition is found in Australia.[2]

List of big things

North Island

Name Location Built Size Notes Image
Big Apple Waitomo Caves 7.5 m (25 ft) The logo of the Big Apple Cafe.
Giant Bikes Taupō and Tūrangi 2012 3 m (9.8 ft) Two giant bicycles to promote the region as a cycling destination and alert vehicles to the shared road policy[3]
Big Bull Bulls 4 m (13 ft) A large Bull, signifying the importance of bulls to Bulls.[4]
Big Carrot Ohakune 1984 7.5 m (25 ft) This big carrot is at the entrance to the town Ohakune, recognising the importance of market gardening to the local economy.[5] The carrot was originally a fibreglass prop used in an ANZ Bank commercial that was acquired by the town and officially unveiled by the Prime Minister in 1984.
Big Cow Hāwera 1994 Known as Olive, the big cow statue has stood outside the Fonterra plant in Whareroa (near Hāwera) since 1994.[6]
Mega Cow Morrinsville 2017 6.5 m A large cow, to acknowledge the area's thriving dairy farming industry.
Big Dairy Whip Tatuanui A giant can of Tatua Dairy Whip at the site of the Tatua Dairy Company factory.
Big Gumboot Taihape 2000 A giant metal gumboot made from corrugated iron. Represents Taihape as the "Gumboot Capital of the World".[7]
Jandal On The Mandel [8] Between Kopu and Thames. A giant jandal, alongside the Hauraki Rail Trail, on the Coromandel Peninsula. By artist Ricks Terstappen.
Big Kiwi Eketāhuna Big Kiwi; relocated in 2016.
Big Kiwifruit Te Puke, Bay of Plenty Part of the Kiwi360 complex.[9]
Big Kiwis Ōtorohanga Several corrugated-iron kiwis are located around the town, the self-proclaimed capital of Kiwiana.
Big Kowhai Napier 2014 4 m (13 ft) "The Gold of the Kowhai" is a bronze gilded sculpture by artist Paul Dibble[10]
Big Lemon & Paeroa bottle Paeroa, Thames Valley 1967 7 m (23 ft) A large soft drink bottle; L&P or Lemon & Paeroa.[11]
Big Loaf Manaia The town is 'New Zealand's Bread Capital' - Yarrows Family Bakers, one of the last and largest remaining independently owned bakeries, is in Manaia.
Giant Oystercatcher Kaiaua 23 January 2005[12] 3.5 m A large oystercatcher, to represent the shorebirds of the Seabird Coast.
Big Parsnip, also known as Panorama Parsnip Ohakune 2017[13] The sixth vegetable added to the Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park.[13]
Giant Pencils Whanganui 2010[14] "Balancing Act", a sculpture of three large Staedler pencils by artist Daniel Clifford.
Big Prawn Taupō A giant prawn, part of Huka Prawn Park
Quasi (Big Hand) Christchurch then Wellington 2016 Located in Christchurch (2016–2019) and then Wellington (2019–2024), then Australia.[15]
Big Sheep and Sheepdog Tīrau 1994 Made from corrugated iron, the town's information centre is shaped like a giant dog, with 'the big sheep' housing a large wool outlet.[16]
Big Sheep Shearer Te Kūiti The town promotes itself as the sheep shearing capital of the world and is host to the annual New Zealand National Shearing Championships.
Big Skateboard /Eke Tahi Mangawhai 2024 12 m x 3.1m The world's largest skateboard, commissioned by the New Zealand Olympic Committee to promote awareness of skateboarding being introduced as an Olympic sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[17]
Big Surfboard Ōakura A surfboard that is 155 years old and is claimed to be the world's biggest.[18]
Big Trout Taupō A giant metal trout

South Island

Name Location Built Size Notes Image
Big Crayfish Kaikōura The logo of the Lobster Inn Motel.
Big Doughnut Springfield 2007 3.5 m (11 ft) A doughnut set up to promote The Simpsons Movie.[19]
The Five Clydesdales Clinton[20] A group of (slightly) larger-than-life-sized Clydesdale horses.
Big Fruit[21] Cromwell 1989 13 m (43 ft) An apricot, apple, pear and nectarine.
Harbour Mouth Molars Dunedin Sculpture of several molars, sometimes called the Harbour Mouth Molars, in Kitchener Street Reserve. Harbour Mouth Molars
Big Mosgiel Mosgiel Big letters spelling the name of the town.
Big Pāua [22] Riverton early 1990s Giant pāua (abalone) shell just past eastern bridge into the town on State Highway 99. Featured in 1998 in a series of postage stamps celebrating New Zealand town icons.[23]
Big Peanut Butter Jar Stoke A big Pic's Peanut Butter jar that stands outside Pic's Peanut Butter World.[18]
Big Salmon[24] Rakaia 1991 12 m (39 ft) A larger than usual salmon, commonly found in the Rakaia River.
Big Sandfly Pukekura[25] A sandfly mounted outside The Bushmans Centre. No longer present as the centre has shut down.
Big Sausage Tuatapere 3 m (10 ft) A big sausage atop a fork, awarded to the town in September 2015 by the ZM radio show Fletch, Vaughan and Megan.[26]
Surfer Riding a Wave Colac Bay Big statue of surfer riding a wave
Big Takahe Te Anau ~ 2.2 m (7.2 ft) Big statue of the takahē, an endangered, flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand's South Island. Big Takahe bird statue
Big Trout and Big Guitar Gore 1998 (Trout) A brown trout.[27] Central Gore also has a giant guitar, honouring the town's status as the unofficial capital of country and western music in New Zealand.
Big Wheelbarrow Hokitika Holds a giant inflatable wild pig during Hokitika's annual Wildfoods Festival.

See also

References

  1. ^ Cunningham, Matthew (17 May 2010). "Small towns have big things". Salient. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  2. ^ Phillips, Jock (14 November 2012). "Country towns - New developments, 1990 onward". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Giant bike takes over Taupō". Spoke. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Bulls puns – Country towns – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Ohakune's big carrot turns twenty next month". Wanganui Chronicle. 21 September 2004. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012.
  6. ^ Groenestein, Catherine (22 August 2019). "Power tool attack removes tail and teat from South Taranaki's giant cow statue". Stuff. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  7. ^ "World's Biggest Carrot and Gumboot are in New Zealand". Vagabond Quest. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
  8. ^ "#JandalOnTheMandel". Inlet Technologies - Your Technology Partner. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Another big reason to visit NZ". The Dominion Post. 1 November 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  10. ^ "The Gold of the Kowhai Sculpture in Napier, New Zealand". Encircle Photos. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  11. ^ "The L and P Bottle". Positive Paeroa. Archived from the original Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine on 24 July 2011.
  12. ^ Woodley, Keith (February 2005). "Torea mangu" (PDF). Miranda News (56): 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Parsnip joins iconic veges at Carrot Park". Stuff. 4 December 2017. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Balancing Act by Daniel Clifford, 2010". Coastal Arts Trail. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  15. ^ Wong, Justin (30 October 2024). "Quasi sculpture moves on from City Gallery". www.thepost.co.nz. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Signs of ingenuity". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 November 2005. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  17. ^ "World's largest skateboard installed at Mangawhai skatepark". The New Zealand Herald. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Play the ultimate Kiwi 'Big Things' bingo this summer". The New Zealand Herald. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  19. ^ Eleven, Beck (28 September 2009). "D'oh! Springfield's giant Simpsons doughnut gets toasted". The Press. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  20. ^ "Clydesdale statue – Horses – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  21. ^ "State Highway 6". Cromwell District Promotion Group. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Big Paua : Image". Images.travelpod.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  23. ^ Matthew, Rosenberg (22 October 2021). "Historic pāua shell to remain in Riverton". Stuff. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Town builds on its fishy reputation". One News. 27 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  25. ^ [1] Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ Nichol, Tess (18 September 2015). "Radio hosts unveil big sausage in Tuatapere". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  27. ^ "Gore Town Trout Sculpture With Welcome Sign Southland New Zealand". New Zealand Pictures. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
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