When WWI was over in 1919, there were thousands of soldiers waiting for a ship home. In England, New Zealand soldiers lived at Sling Camp in Salisbury while they waited… and waited.

They had survived the war and now were keen to return home to their families. While waiting, they worried about their loved ones and the devastating flu that was racing around the world. Add delayed ships and port strikes and the tension inside Sling Camp became unbearable.

Soldiers finally began to leave the camp, but many were still waiting. They needed something to do while they waited, and so Sergeant Major Percy Blenkarne, Sergeant Major Victor Low and Captain Harry Clark put together an idea.

With the help of 250 soldiers, they carved a symbol of their time there, in nearby Beacon Hill. What remains to this day is a 128 metre long kiwi for all to see. It has needed some care and maintenance over the years, but the Bulford Kiwi still shines bright from the hill.

The Biggest Kiwi in the World is much more than a historical tale.

Inside the front cover is an activity for readers, with answers in the back of the book. Along with these is a map, a timeline, information on the key men in the story, and the reason why we are called kiwis!

Inside the story are photographs of the Bulford Kiwi and simply beautiful artwork of a girl and her grandfather walking among the ghosts of the past as he tells her the story of the kiwi on the hill.

Another Colleen Brown and Emma Lay story to add to home and school Anzac collections.

Author – Colleen Brown

Illustrator – Emma Lay

Picture Book

Non-Fiction

(2025, Non-Fiction, Colleen Brown Books, NZ Expeditionary Force, New Zealand, Soldiers, World War 1, WWI, England, Salisbury Plain, The Bulford Kiwi, Beacon Hill, 1919, Sling Camp, Historical, True Story, Chalk Hills, NZ Author, NZ Illustrator)