New Zealand's kitsch icons: Explore the small towns with big iconography

When travelling to a new country, it’s common to put famous statues or architectural beauties on your bucket list. From Washington’s Lincoln Memorial to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, these structures have become famous landmarks that draw tourists from around the world.

New Zealand has a few famous buildings—our unique beehive-shaped Parliament House and Auckland’s Sky Tower come to mind. However, the country's real icons can be found in its smallest towns.

Whether you like to call them sculptures or simply ‘big things’ (as is the popular terminology in Aotearoa), these oversized statues are worth checking out as you tour your way around New Zealand.

What’s the deal with New Zealand’s obsession with these statues?

The term kitsch means ‘a naive imitation’, and you’ll find that many of these statues feel more weird and wonderful than like pieces of serious art. But that’s what makes them so endearing.

No one really knows why or how New Zealand became obsessed with planting these large fibre-glass statues around the country. But their kitsch nature aligns with many symbols of ‘kiwiana’ that are generally viewed as being a bit tacky, but we love them anyway.

Furthermore, these statues gave small towns something to anchor their identity to. Many of these towns have used these giant statues as a chance to be known for something that sets them apart from other towns. These statues also help draw tourists back in for a pit stop or photo opportunity.

Paeroa’s Big L&P Bottle

Paeroa may be the town responsible for kicking off New Zealand’s obsession with ‘big things.’ L&P soft drink has been made in Paeroa since 1907, but the original L&P bottle was erected in 1968 to celebrate the town’s lemon fizzy creation. L&P, standing for Lemon & Paeroa, has been considered Kiwiana for years thanks to its ‘world famous in New Zealand’ tagline.

The statue was originally constructed to sit at the entrance of the town but was deemed a traffic hazard. A year later, a slightly smaller (but still over 6 metres tall) statue was created in a different location and is one of New Zealand’s most famous giant statues.

Ohakune’s Giant Carrot

Ohakune is the entrance to the Turoa ski area but it’s also the region of New Zealand that produces two thirds of our carrots. Naturally, the town needed a giant statue to celebrate. Built in 1984, the statue was actually constructed for a bank advertisement and gifted to the town afterwards.

It’s 7.5-metre statue means that it has also earned the title of the World’s Largest Carrot. It’s now a quintessential landmark for anyone driving to the ski areas. There’s also a children’s playground nearby with several fruit and vegetable themed statues.

Te Puke’s Giant Kiwifruit

Te Puke, a small town about 30km south of Tauranga, is known for the cultivation of kiwifruit (a fruit that’s also considered Kiwiana). Every year this small region produces tonnes of green and gold kiwifruit to be exported to countries around the globe.

For more than 30 years, a giant kiwifruit has welcomed visitors to the area. In 2010 the sculpture was repainted so that one side is green and the other gold to better represent the region’s exports.

Bull’s Bulls

Bulls is a small town located near Palmerston North. One of the best things about Bulls is the way they’ve embraced their name. As you drive through the town you’ll notice several bulls statues as well as businesses and slogans that embrace the name. There’s the Const-a-bull police station and the Read-a-bull library, for instance, as well as the Befriend-a-bull social club. The rubbish bins throughout the town are even shaped like milk pails.

Gore’s Big Brown Trout

Gore, a small town an hour or so north-east of Invercargill, has a few claims to fame. It’s the New Zealand capital for country music, used to host the Hokonui fashion awards, is known for moonshine and its farming heritage and some of these even have their own statues. But more famous than the golden guitars or the romney sheep is the giant brown trout.

Home to the Mataura River, Gore is the world capital for trout fishing and has immortalised this feat with a giant statue of a leaping brown trout.

Cromwell’s Giant Stone Fruit

Cromwell’s giant stone fruit features a giant pear, apple, apricot and peach, all seemingly suspended in mid-air. It’s an ode to the fruit orchards that can be found in the area. The 1.7-tonne landmark was created in 1990 by the Cronwell Rotary Club. If you’re in the area, pop in to see the sculpture and pick up some stone fruit from the nearby fruit stalls.

Te Kuiti’s Giant Shearer

Te Kuiti is a small town located in the King Country, an area known for farming and for producing several famous shearers. The town is home to several well-known shearers, including Sir David Fagan and Godfrey Bowen. Sir David Fagan was one of the best competitive shearers of all time, winning the Golden Shears 16 times and setting 10 shearing records.

The statue depicts Godfrey Bowen, known for developing a shearing technique in the 1940s and 50s called ‘the Bowen technique’, which saw him and others set fast shearing times.

Taihape’s Big Gumboot

Gumboots have long been a symbol of Kiwiana (particularly our beloved red bands). They’ve been worn by Fred Dagg, a fictional character played by comedian John Clark. The character of Dagg was from Taihape and even sang about the boots in ‘the gumboot song.’

At the time Taihape was suffering from a massive loss of industry. Since the 50s and 60s, its population has declined. In response to the interest of Fred Dagg they erected a giant patchwork gumboot made from corrugated iron along State Highway 1. Taihape has leaned into being known as the Gumboot Capital, even holding a gumboot-throwing festival every year.

Springfield’s Big Donut

In 2007, the creators of The Simpsons Movie gifted the small North Island town of Springfield a sprinkle-covered doughnut sculpture. The gift from 20th Century Studios was a nod to the shared name between the cartoon and the real-life town.

Unfortunately, the six-tonne landmark was damaged by fire in 2009. But by 2012, the doughnut had been replaced with a new fireproof statue, much to the relief of some locals who enjoyed the interest the sculpture brought to their town.

Riverton’s Big Paua Shell

Riverton is a small town located on the south coast of the south island, about thirty minutes east of Invercargill. Paua shells are themselves considered Kiwiana and are often used in Maori art and jewellery. Riverton’s giant paua shell can be found outside a souvenir factory in the town. Pop to the beach across the road and you can probably find washed-up paua shells (called abalone in other parts of the world) on the sand.