Big Bull – Bulls

Bulls, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand

Roadside giants

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Current

Recently confirmed · Aug 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A giant bull sculpture celebrating the town of Bulls and its agricultural identity.

Before you stop

Park at the visitor centre rather than at the landmark itself.

Do not stop in the live State Highway traffic lane beside the sculpture; use marked parking only.

Visitor centre
P
Parking
at the arrival point

Private to your Passport.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Recommended arrival available

Visitor centre

This takes you to the Big Thing itself. Do not stop at the landmark; use the recommended arrival if stopping.

A free Explorer account reveals the exact recommended arrival point.

Big Bull – Bulls

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

40.17429° S, 175.38537° E

FIELD GUIDE

The story

The town is called Bulls, and it has never once let that go.

The name is not agricultural in origin. In 1862 an English settler named James Bull established a general store here, and the settlement that grew around it was known for a time as Bull Town before settling on Bulls. A cattle-farming district that happens to be named after a shopkeeper is a good joke to begin with, and the town has spent well over a century extending it.

Bulls is best known nationally for its puns. Local businesses and public buildings carry signs built on the name – the police station, the medical centre, the library and more besides, each labelled with an -abull word – to the point that the practice is documented in Te Ara, the national encyclopedia, as a defining feature of the town. It is one of the most sustained pieces of civic wordplay in New Zealand.

The wooden bull, about four metres high, stands in the small town centre as the physical anchor of all that. Rangitīkei District Council planning material describes Bulls as celebrating its name and its agricultural heritage through bull signs and statues – the sculpture is not a standalone attraction so much as the largest item in a town-wide scheme.

With a population in the order of 1,600, Bulls is a place most people pass through on State Highway 1 rather than visit. The puns and the bull exist to make sure they remember having done so, and they work.

The carver and installation date are not established in the record.

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PRACTICAL

Plan your stop

WHAT TO EXPECT

Rangitīkei District Council planning material explicitly describes Bulls as celebrating its name and agricultural heritage with bull signs and statues, while current specialist surveys identify the best-known wooden bull as about four metres high.

ACCESS

Roadside town-centre landmark outside Bulls Medical Centre. Marked High Street parking is available close to the sculpture; park only in a designated space and follow posted restrictions. For a reliable navigation destination, use Te Matapihi / Criterion Street public parking and walk to the Big Bull. Do not stop in the live State Highway traffic lane.

COMMUNITY