BUzzY BEE !

We seem to come across 'kiwiana' all the time.. the buzzy bee is just one example, so it deserves a blog.. although we have seen some unusual versions around the country, that were quite disturbing..

"How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour
And gather honey all the day
from every opening flower!"
Isaac Watts, Divine Songs for Children (1720)

The Buzzy Bee is a really popular toy in New Zealand.
It resembles a bee with rotating wings that move and make a clicking noise while the toy is pulled along the ground and it was designed and first produced in 1948 by Hec and John Ramsey.
Hec was a travelling sales man who took the Buzzy Bee to his brother’s wood turning business in New Lynn. He developed a design made originally in a small workshop in St Benedicts Street in Newton, Auckland by toy and wood craftsman, Maurice Scheslinger.



The Buzzy Bee became popular during the post-war baby boom, with its bright colours and clicking call, a fond childhood memory to many New Zealanders.
It is one of the most well-recognised items of Kiwiana.



Since then the Buzzy Bee has 'popped up' all over New Zealand,in books, jigsaws and clothing at our 'kiwiana day' in Howick, I lost count of the number of toddlers trailing one behind them..the girls and I found this Queen Bee in the town centre!



Lucky for the Buzzy Bee, it got a "free promotion" when the Prince and Princess of Wales visited New Zealand in 1983 with Prince William, who played with one.

As an iconic New Zealand symbol, the Buzzy Bee caricature was used on the keel of NZL84, one of Emirates Team New Zealand's entrant yachts for the America's Cup held in Valencia, Spain, in 2007.
It has appeared as the subject of paintings, sculptures, television advertisements, postal stamps (twice), magazine covers, school murals and parades.




Buzzy Bee™ is now often presented by New Zealand dignitaries to VIP’s with children who are visiting New Zealand, besides Prince William it's been given to Princess Aiko from Japan and the Spanish Royal family.