The Bulford Kiwi is a large depiction of a

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

, carved in the

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

on Beacon Hill above the military town of

Bulford Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish. ...

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England. It was created in 1919 by soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who were awaiting repatriation following the end of

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It is one of the few

hill figure A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and ...

s in Wiltshire to be neither a white horse nor a military badge.

History

Sling Camp Sling Camp was a World War I camp occupied by New Zealand soldiers beside the then-military town of Bulford on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. History The camp was initially created as an annexe to Bulford Camp in 1903; it was originall ...

(now gone), part of

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about northeast of the town of Amesbury. ...

, was established in June 1916 for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). Soldiers of the NZEF underwent training here when arriving in England before being transferred to New Zealand units serving on the Western Front. The Kiwi was constructed on Beacon Hill overlooking the camp. After the war was over, the New Zealand soldiers were eager to return home, but no troop ships were available. In the wake of riots by disaffected soldiers, their commanding officers decided that the troops should be kept busy carving an enormous

into the chalk of the hill. This was done in February and March 1919, by the Canterbury and Otago Engineers Battalions. The emblem is cut out of the chalk hillside, and stands out in contrast from the surrounding vegetation. The design was executed by Sergeant-Major Percy Cecil Blenkarne, a drawing instructor in the Education Staff, from a sketch of a stuffed kiwi specimen in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The site was surveyed and the design extended on to the site by Sergeant-Major V.T. Low, NZE of the Education Staff. Bulford, England

Size

* The Kiwi's body is . * From the Kiwi's feet to the top of its back is . * The width is about . * The

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food ...

is long. * The letters "N.Z." are high.

After the war

In the years after the Kiwi's creation, the Kiwi Polish Company maintained the Kiwi through their offices in London, employing local villagers to do the work. Although it had "little if any advertising value or the company, they explained their interest in its upkeep as its being a memorial to the New Zealand troops. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Kiwi was camouflaged with

leaf mould Leaf mold (spelled leaf mould outside of the United States) is the compost produced by decomposition of shaded deciduous shrub and tree leaves, primarily by fungal breakdown in a slower cooler manner as opposed to the bacterial degradation of le ...

, out of concerns that German bombers would use it as a navigation marker during their raids over Britain. In 1948, the leaf mould was removed by local

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, and fresh chalk was added. The Scout troop subsequently renamed themselves in the kiwi's honour. In the early 1950s, Blenkarne negotiated for the Kiwi to be maintained by the British Army's 3 (UK) Divisional Headquarters and Signal Regiment following on from the work done by 249 Signal Squadron. 3 DHQ&SR was part of the 3rd Infantry Division. In 1986, a pillar with a commemorative plaque was unveiled by

Bryce Harland William Bryce Harland (11 December 1931 – 1 February 2006) was a New Zealand diplomat and academic, who served as New Zealand's first Ambassador to China, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and High Commissioner to Lon ...

, New Zealand High Commissioner. As of 2007, the Kiwi is maintained by the Ministry of Defence. In 2017 the chalk figure was designated as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. On 30 June 2018 the Kiwi was given a resurfacing. 100 tons of chalk were ferried by

Chinook helicopter The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name ...

to the site where under the guidance of Richard Osgood, a Defence Infrastructure Organisation archaeologist, it was spread over the figure to restore it for the first time in 30 years.

Viewing and access

Views of the kiwi are largely obscured, as the straight-ahead view is from within the camp. The kiwi is visible from Tidworth Road which passes the kiwi from the left at a skewed angle, and it is possible to walk up from there to the kiwi.Sling Camp - Ngā Tapuwae
/ref> Very distorted views of the kiwi from the right of the hill can be seen from

Woodhenge Woodhenge is a Neolithic Class II henge and timber circle monument within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. It is north-east of Stonehenge, in Durrington parish, just north of the town of Amesbury. Discovery Woodhe ...

and from near

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

Nearby

There have been several military hill figures in Wiltshire, and this is the only surviving example which does not depict a badge. Roughly 20 miles from the Bulford Kiwi are the

Fovant Badges The Fovant Badges are a set of regimental badges cut into a chalk hill, Fovant Down, near Fovant, in southwest Wiltshire, England. They are located between Salisbury and Shaftesbury on the A30 road in the Nadder valley; or approximately sout ...

, a group of eight military badges cut mostly by camps in World War I. There used to be more badges on the hill, and there are two more recently restored nearby at Sutton Mandeville; an outline of Australia is nearby in

Compton Chamberlayne Compton Chamberlayne is a small village and civil parish in the Nadder Valley in south Wiltshire, England, about west of Salisbury. The Nadder forms the northern boundary of the parish; to the south are chalk hills. It is bisected by the A30 r ...

. Another nearby military badge is Lamb Down Military Badge near Codford St. Mary.

References

External links

Google Maps image of the Kiwi
{{Authority control Hill figures in England New Zealand art Military history of Wiltshire New Zealand in World War I Geography of Wiltshire Monuments and memorials in Wiltshire 1919 works

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

Tourist attractions in Wiltshire Scheduled monuments in Wiltshire