List of New Zealand's big things
Appearance
(Redirected from 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
[edit]North Island
[edit]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. | |
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".[6] | ||
Jandal On The Mandel [7] | 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.[8] | |||
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[9] | |
Big Lemon & Paeroa bottle | Paeroa, Thames Valley | 1967 | 7 m (23 ft) | A large soft drink bottle; L&P or Lemon & Paeroa.[10] | |
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[11] | 3.5 m | A large oystercatcher, to represent the shorebirds of the Seabird Coast. | |
Big Parsnip, also known as Panorama Parsnip | Ohakune | 2017[12] | The sixth vegetable added to the Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park.[12] | ||
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.[13] | ||
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.[14] | ||
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.[15] | |
Big Trout | Taupō | A giant metal trout |
South Island
[edit]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.[16] | |
The Five Clydesdales | Clinton[17] | A group of (slightly) larger-than-life-sized Clydesdale horses. | |||
Big Fruit[18] | 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. | |||
Big Mosgiel | Mosgiel | Big letters spelling the name of the town. | |||
Big Pāua [19] | 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.[20] | ||
Big Salmon[21] | Rakaia | 1991 | 12 m (39 ft) | A larger than usual salmon, commonly found in the Rakaia River. | |
Big Sandfly | Pukekura[22] | A sandfly mounted outside The Bushmans Centre. | |||
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.[23] | ||
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 Trout and Big Guitar | Gore | 1998 (Trout) | A brown trout.[24] 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
[edit]- Australia's big things
- Giants of the Prairies
- List of largest roadside attractions
- Novelty architecture
References
[edit]- ^ Cunningham, Matthew (17 May 2010). "Small towns have big things". Salient. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Giant bike takes over Taupō". Spoke. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Ohakune's big carrot turns twenty next month". Wanganui Chronicle. 21 September 2004. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012.
- ^ "World's Biggest Carrot and Gumboot are in New Zealand". Vagabond Quest. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
- ^ "#JandalOnTheMandel". Inlet Technologies - Your Technology Partner. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Another big reason to visit NZ". The Dominion Post. 1 November 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
- ^ "The Gold of the Kowhai Sculpture in Napier, New Zealand". Encircle Photos. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ "The L and P Bottle". Positive Paeroa. Archived from the original Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine on 24 July 2011.
- ^ Woodley, Keith (February 2005). "Torea mangu" (PDF). Miranda News (56): 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Wong, Justin (30 October 2024). "Quasi sculpture moves on from City Gallery". www.thepost.co.nz. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Signs of ingenuity". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 November 2005. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ "World's largest skateboard installed at Mangawhai skatepark". The New Zealand Herald. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "State Highway 6". Cromwell District Promotion Group. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Big Paua : Image". Images.travelpod.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Town builds on its fishy reputation". One News. 27 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ [1] Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Gore Town Trout Sculpture With Welcome Sign Southland New Zealand". New Zealand Pictures. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
External links
[edit]Wikimedia Commons has media related to Big Things of New Zealand.
- "NZ's big statues and signs" – photographs of ten Big Things.
- Map of New Zealand's big things, via Wikidata