Buzzy Bee & friends

Press coverage

There is no more emphatic representation of what Buzzy Bee means to New Zealanders than this image on the front of New Zealand’s most prominent current affairs magazine North & South. In both a literal and figurative sense Buzzy Bee is being used to depict young New Zealanders themselves returning to New Zealand.

Buzzy Bee has featured on the front cover of many magazines over the years. In this image the Direct Marketing Association wished to use it to enhance their feature article.

This was the first edition of a Kiwiana book that sold in the thousands. Once again Buzzy Bee is the most prominent image on its cover and illustrates how central it is held as a New Zealand icon and symbol of our popular culture.

Following on from the first Kiwiana book ‘New Zealand, New Zealand’ which featured Buzzy Bee most prominently on its cover, this sequel addition can’t resist a sneaky peak of Buzzy Bee in the bottom left hand corner.

The Buzzy Bee standing costume has featured at many, many festivals and parades all around New Zealand. Here BUZZY Bee parades proudly down the main street in Waipu.

There have been many books written about New Zealand Kiwiana or things uniquely Kiwi and few if any do not feature Buzzy Bee somewhere central on their cover. It does, in one sense, illustrate how central Buzzy Bee is to the Kiwiana construct.

When Prince William of England arrived to support the British and Irish Lions rugby tour of New Zealand in 2005, it didn’t take long for the media to recall the last time the prince was here as a toddler playing with a Buzzy Bee. The photos and television images from that day were transmitted all over the world and helped cement Buzzy Bee in New Zealand iconology folklore.

Kiwiana or things ‘Kiwi’ is a frequent advertising technique and one that would be incomplete without the inclusion of Buzzy Bee. This is an image of a hamburger tray placemat. In 2007 McDonalds re-introduced the Kiwi Burger and acquired another short term license to use the Buzzy Bee image on the placemats but also in a wide spread outdoor media campaign.

Over the years foreign owned companies have sought to use the image of Buzzy Bee when they are looking for a New Zealand point of identity. Here the Heinz corporation used the Buzzy Bee image to help sell toddler milk.

New Zealand’s other iconic institution, New Zealand’s Post’s ‘Bonus Bonds’ using Buzzy Bee in a promotional advertising flyer.

In 1994 New Zealand Post issued a very popular series of stamps celebrating Kiwiana and things popular to New Zealand culture. Buzzy Bee was central to the success of this series of unique stamps.

Buzzy Bee has been included in two issues of stamps by New Zealand post during the course of Buzzy Bee’s history. Similar to the first issue, this second issue in [2005] also celebrated New Zealand-ness and featured other well recognized items of Kiwi culture.

A Painting of Buzzy Bee by a private artist.

In this 1977 artist Robin White painted the buzzy bee toy above a typical New Zealand villa.

This is a rare image of what is believed to be the working interior of the Ramsey wood turning factory located in New Lynn in Auckland. Source: TBA

A fabulous collage of images taken at the Otorahonga Kiwiana Festival. Three such festivals have been held with the next scheduled for 2010. Buzzy Bee is the symbol of this very popular and growing occasion.

Otorohanga is now recognized as the capital town of Kiwiana in New Zealand. It has hosted three spectacular Kiwiana festivals and has year-round exhibits and events celebrating Kiwi culture. As can be clearly seen, Buzzy Bee is the star of the show and integral to Otorohanga’s Kiwiana logo.

Emirates Team New Zealand have elected to enhance the ‘kiwi-ness’ of their boat by adorning the keel in with a determined looking Buzzy Bee, much to the delight of all New Zealanders.

A Buzzy Bee sculpture opposite the parliamentary building (the beehive) in Wellington, New Zealand

A cast shot from the Buzzy Bee & Friends Childrens TV Series - On the 27th of April 2009 Buzzy Bee and Friends aired for the first time on television. It was the culmination of several years work and we were very excited to be able to see it finally come to fruition.

The hard working dads of Waiuku's Sandspit Road School gave the kids a thrill with this super sized Buzzy. It was a great hit in the local santa parades and has been queuing up for other parades! It wooed the crowds at Auckland's Santa parade now there are invitations from as far away as Wellington and Gisborne. - Tvnz.co.nz