On a grey morning in August, Wellington city locals woke up to a terrifying sight. A strange, Lovecraftian horror stood on the roof of City Gallery Wellington – a giant hand that grimaced suspiciously into the distance.
The “giant hybrid face-hand” – or, Quasi, as he was officially named – is the work of New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout. The sculpture was installed on the roof of the Gallery in 2019, and was removed in 2024 after a five-year tenure – much to the relief of some locals, who described it as “kinda creepy”. Others admitted that they’d warmed up to the sculpture and were sad to see it go.
"[Quasi] was a great cheerleader for Wellington's creativity, and as TIME magazine said, our 'quirkiness',” Wellington Sculpture Trust Chair Jane Black told RNZ.
This is far from the only instance of New Zealand’s love for giant sculptures. You’ll find weird novelty statues dotted all over the country, commemorating everything from soft drinks to animals, to notable fruit and vegetables.
The L&P bottle
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In the small town of Paeroa, a nearly 7-metre concrete bottle of L&P (Lemon & Paeroa) has become one of the country's most photographed landmarks. L&P is a classic Kiwi soft drink, first bottled here using local mineral water. This massive replica was built to celebrate the town’s fizzy invention, and it’s a common photo stop for North Island road trippers.
The Springfield donut
Over near Christchurch, the small town of Springfield has its own claim to fame: a giant pink sprinkled donut, gifted by the Simpsons Movie promo team in 2007. It has nothing to do with local history, but everybody loves it anyway.
The Cromwell fruit
Head down to Cromwell, and you’ll find four giant fruits – an apple, a pear, a nectarine, and an apricot. As you might expect, Cromwell is famous for its fruit stalls, and this giant fiberglass salad was built to crown the region as the “fruit bowl of the south.”
The Kaipara coffee cup
New Zealand has some of the best coffee in the world, and the Kaipara Sculpture Gardens have finally made a coffee cup big enough to satisfy our marketing team leader’s craving. If you head just 45 minutes out of Auckland, you can track it down at one of New Zealand’s many sculpture parks – though good luck getting a barista to fill it.
The Tirau iron menagerie
Over on the North Island, the small town of Tirau is known for its quirky main street, where giant animal-shaped buildings built from corrugated iron line the road. The most photographed are the giant dog, sheep, and ewe, built back in 1988.
A few local restaurants and stores have since added their own iron sculptures. You’ll see a cafe sporting giant poppy flowers, and a large pukeko bird dressed in heels and pearls perched on the roof of the convenience store.
International giants Starbucks and Burger King are also about to open joints in Tirau – and while not everyone loves that, both companies have suggested including corrugated iron into their designs “to keep with the town’s quirky vibe.” So at least they understand what they’re walking into.
A world-famous tradition
New Zealand’s giant sculptures are so prolific that there’s a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to them. Seriously, you can hardly drive two hours without hitting a giant trout, a towering carrot, a massive surfboard, a giant sausage on a fork, or a colossal peanut butter jar.
If you’re looking to build a quirky road-trip itinerary, it doesn’t get much better than this!
