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]
| width=20% | Name | width=15% | Location | width=5% | Built | width=10% | Size | width=35% | Notes | width=8% | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Apple | Waitomo Caves | 7.5m (24.6feet) | The logo of the Big Apple Cafe. | ||||||||
| Giant Bikes | Taupō and Tūrangi | 2012 | 3m (10feet) | Two giant bicycles to promote the region as a cycling destination and alert vehicles to the shared road policy[3] | |||||||
| Big Bull | Bulls | 4m (13feet) | A large Bull, signifying the importance of bulls to Bulls.[4] | ||||||||
| Big Carrot | Ohakune | 1984 | 7.5m (24.6feet) | 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 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] | ||||||||
| Big Kiwifruit | Te Puke, Bay of Plenty | Part of the Kiwi360 complex.[7] | |||||||||
| Big Kiwi | Eketāhuna | Big Kiwi; relocated in 2016. | |||||||||
| 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[8] | |||||||
| Big Lemon & Paeroa bottle | Paeroa, Thames Valley | 1967 | 7m (23feet) | A large soft drink bottle; L&P or Lemon & Paeroa.[9] | |||||||
| 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. | |||||||||
| Big Parsnip, also known as Panorama Parsnip | Ohakune | 2017[10] | The sixth vegetable added to the Ohakune Carrot Adventure Park. | ||||||||
| 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.[11] | ||||||||
| 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.[12] | |||||||
| Big Trout | Taupō | A giant metal trout | |||||||||
| Big Prawn | Taupō | A giant prawn, part of Huka Prawn Park | |||||||||
| Jandal On The Mandel [13] | Between Kopu and Thames. | A giant jandal, alongside the Hauraki Rail Trail, on the Coromandel Peninsula. By artist Ricks Terstappen. | |||||||||
| Giant Oystercatcher | Kaiaua | 23 January 2005[14] | 3.5 m | A large oystercatcher, to represent the shorebirds of the Seabird Coast. | |||||||
| Mega Cow | Morrinsville | 2017 | 6.5 m | A large cow, to acknowledge the area's thriving dairy farming industry. |
| width=20% | Name | width=15% | Location | width=5% | Built | width=10% | Size | width=35% | Notes | width=8% | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Crayfish | Kaikōura | The logo of the Lobster Inn Motel. | |||||||||
| Big Doughnut | Springfield | 2007 | 3.5m (11.5feet) | A doughnut set up to promote The Simpsons Movie.[15] | |||||||
| The Five Clydesdales | Clinton[16] | A group of (slightly) larger-than-life-sized Clydesdale horses. | |||||||||
| Big Fruit[17] | Cromwell | 1989 | 13m (43feet) | An apricot, apple, pear and nectarine. | |||||||
| Big Mosgiel | Mosgiel | Big letters spelling the name of the town. | |||||||||
| Big Pāua [18] | 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.[19] | ||||||||
| Big Salmon[20] | Rakaia | 1991 | 12 m (39 ft) | A larger than usual salmon, commonly found in the Rakaia River. | |||||||
| Big Sandfly | Pukekura[21] | 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.[22] | ||||||||
| 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. | ||||||||
| Harbour Mouth Molars | Dunedin | Sculpture of several molars, sometimes called the Harbour Mouth Molars, in Kitchener Street Reserve. | |||||||||
| Big Trout and Big Guitar | Gore | 1998 (Trout) | A brown trout.[23] 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. |
