World’s biggest tui lands in central Wellington

30 March 2007 - Wellington

Contact: Laura Richards, Forest & Bird, 801 2218, 021 988 315; Jake Yocum, Izzat, 04 388 5491, 021 0372 699

The world’s biggest tui made its first and only flight today – on to the roof of Forest & Bird’s national office.

The four-metre giant tui was sculpted for Forest & Bird by Wellington prop-makers Izzat Design from polystyrene, steel and resin, and was lifted by crane on to its perch on the rooftop.

The tui (nicknamed Izzy), about to feed on a kowhai flower, represents Forest & Bird’s tui and kowhai logo, and is sure to become an unmissable icon in central Wellington.  Images donated by some of New Zealand’s leading wildlife photographers form the backdrop to Izzy’s new home.

Forest & Bird Communications Officer Laura Richards says that when Forest & Bird moved offices last year, the organisation wanted to make its presence known in a way that was at least as eye-catching as its much-loved conservation-themed mural that covered its previous office in Taranaki Street.

“In collaboration with Izzat Design we came up with the idea of a giant tui, and from there it was a major mission to find out exactly how you go about creating a larger-than-life bird.  Izzat have made that idea a reality.”

Laura Richards says Izzy won’t be lonely in Wellington as the central city is enjoying a comeback of his ordinary-sized cousins, thanks largely to pest control and planting of native species in the region.

Izzat sculptor and director Jake Yocum says he has never had to create a massive tui before – the closest he had got was creating some large moa for a Te Papa exhibition, but even they came nowhere near the size of Izzy.  The job was even more challenging because Izzy had to be strong enough to withstand Wellington’s notorious weather.

“We are Wellingtonians, so our first concern is obviously the wind – the last thing we want it to do is take off.  We were meticulous in making sure Izzy can withstand hurricane conditions.” He says sculpting Izzy was a labour of love for the whole Izzat team.  “It was amazing to see the bird take shape and it will be even more of a thrill to see him up there on the building for years to come.”