A 5.6-metre boy strides through Auckland's Potters Park in this monumental public artwork by New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout, developed from a 3D scan of his own son.
Pedestrian access
Private to your Passport.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Recommended arrival available
Pedestrian entry
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This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Site-level location · 36.8864° S, 174.7478° E
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Installed in June 2019, Boy Walking transforms an everyday image into a monumental public landmark. Artist Ronnie van Hout developed the work from a three-dimensional scan of his own son, creating a giant cast-aluminium figure, engineered around an internal steel armature, captured mid-stride. Standing 5.6 metres tall, the sculpture was commissioned by Auckland Council and installed in Potters Park, immediately becoming a landmark on the Dominion Road corridor. In 2020, lighting was added to strengthen its visibility after dark.
Photograph
This is a photograph, shown separately from the illustration artwork.
Boy Walking stands in Potters Park beside Dominion Road in the Auckland suburb of Balmoral. The 5.6-metre cast-aluminium figure is visible from the surrounding park and street, and the park itself is open to the public with pedestrian access. It is a landmark-scale piece of public art rather than a traditional roadside Big Thing, so it sits in the Extended part of the catalogue.
ACCESS
Potters Park is a public Auckland Council park with pedestrian access from Dominion Road and Balmoral Road. No dedicated on-site car park for the sculpture has been confirmed; the recommended approach is on foot from the Dominion Road frontage, using normal lawful street parking or public transport. Practical access conditions such as dedicated parking have not yet been field-verified.
June 2019 installation report: $550,000 cost, aluminium casting over an internal steel armature, public welcome event, Balmoral Primary School visit confirming public access.
Fabricator's first-party project record: cast aluminium fabrication, 5.6m scale, and that the form was developed by 3D-scanning the artist's own son.
Official
What we're still checking
The object coordinate is the best available site-level fix inside Potters Park from map research; it has not yet been confirmed against a precise on-site or satellite-image check.
No dedicated on-site car park has been confirmed; the recorded arrival point is a pedestrian approach from Dominion Road, not yet field-verified.
Something not right?
If this Big Thing has changed, moved or gone, telling us keeps the guide honest for the next traveller.
