The Bulford Kiwi was carved by New Zealand troops at the end of World War I. It has now been given protected status by British authorities. Photo / Wikimedia
The Bulford Kiwi was carved by New Zealand troops at the end of World War I. It has now been given protected status by British authorities. Photo / Wikimedia
A giant chalk carving of a Kiwi made on an English hillside by New Zealand soldiers after World War I has undergone a major restoration.
The historic 130m-tall Bulford Kiwi near Stonehenge was carved in 1919 by troops stationed there and waiting to return home to mark their presence and achievements in battles.
The legacy of New Zealand's wartime presence in England was granted protected status by Britain's Department for Culture, Media and Sport five years ago to honour Kiwi soldiers' major roles in the bloody Battle of Messines fought on the Western Front a century earlier.
The soldiers were based at Sling Camp, a sprawling military base which housed as many as 4500 men.
Designed by Sergeant Percy Blenkarne, a drawing instructor, the chalk creation is modelled on a taxidermy kiwi in the Natural History Museum in London, 120km away.
To ensure pleasing proportions, engineers from the Canterbury and Otago regiments used tape to mark the outlines, before the men cut away the hillside to expose a layer of Wiltshire chalk.
The Bulford Kiwi was created by frustrated New Zealand soldiers anxious to return home. Picture / Alexander Turnbull Library
The big white bird covers half a hectare, and stands 130m tall, making it visible from miles around - a problem during World War II because it could be used by German bombers as a navigational landmark. To prevent the enemy gaining an advantage, the Bulford Kiwi was covered with leaf mould for several years before a scout troop scraped it clean again.
The monument remains a major landmark today and is looked after by custodians, the 249 Gurkha Signal Squadron who organised restoration works this year.
One hundred tons of chalk were ferried to the hillside while weeding and edging work was also carried out to restore the Bulford Kiwi to its former splendour.
"This is perhaps one of the most unusual First World War monuments on Salisbury Plain and restoring the monument helps us remember those who served over 100 years ago," said Richard Osgood, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation's senior archaeologist who oversaw the project.
Osgood said the Kiwi is "a much-loved monument" locally, nationally and internationally.
Warrant Officer Cedge Blundell from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) was joined at the refresh exercise by personnel from the New Zealand High Commission and a small representation from Ngāti Ranana, the London-based Māori cultural group.
"Having something tangible here in the UK which provides such a well-known and visible connection between all New Zealanders (Kiwis) and our history and in particular the soldiers who fought in World War I is significant," Blundell said.
Soldiers who created the feature more than 100 years ago had earlier staged a revolt after they became fed up with strict discipline and grinding route-marches when the war for them was done. All they wanted was to get home, but the supply of troop ships was delayed.
Rampaging Sling troops looted the canteen and officers' mess, drank everything they could lay their hands on and caused damage put at the time at 10,000. One officer was treated in hospital for a head wound, while a lot of the troops ended up the worse for wear.
Several soldiers identified as ringleaders were arrested and sent home ahead of the men who so desperately wanted to go.
Many who stayed were put on fatigue parties in February and March 1919 to create the Bulford Kiwi, named after the nearby town.
