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Question
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Our names are George and Sam and we live in Limehills, which is at the
bottom of the South Island of New Zealand. We are learning about the
Bulford Kiwi and are presenting a social studies project on it at The
Southland Museum and Art Gallery in Invercargill. Invercargill is the
nearest city to us.
We have been in contact with Imigen Lee at the British Museum and she
suggested we write to The Natural History Museum. Judith Magee from
The Natural History Museum has given us your address to write to. We
are wondering if you could please help us out with the following
information:
We are trying to find a copy of the sketch used to make the limestone
kiwi which is on the hill at Bulford. We know that at the end of WWI,
a man called Percy Blenkarne went to London and sketched the kiwi and
then returned to Bulford where a group of New Zealand soldiers carved
it into the hill.
Our class has got penpals from Kiwi County School and they have given
us lots of information and sent us photos of the kiwi and their
school. But it would be amazing if we could find out about the
original sketch by Percy Blenkarne. Any information you can send to
us will be much appreciated.
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Question asked on
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13 July 2006
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Answer
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I am afraid that we have no records here of what happened to Percy Blenkarne's drawing but I do have a little more information that you may not know.
Percy Blenkarne was a Sergeant Major drawing instructor with the New Zealand soldiers at Sling Barracks, Bulford. He drew the scaled design and, with the help of Victor Lowe using a theodolite, marked out the Kiwi on the hillside.
Twelve inches (30 cm) of top soil was removed to reach the chalk and create the Kiwi that measures 420 feet in length, including a beak of 150 feet. It is 65 feet tall.
The Kiwi is renovated every year using 20 tons of chalk to preserve the outline and the whiteness.
Incidentally we have various places called New Zealand or New Zealand farm in Wiltshire because they were considered to be so far away from other settlements in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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