Buzzy Bee

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New Zealand toy

title: "Buzzy Bee" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["products-introduced-in-1950", "new-zealand-games", "new-zealand-design", "1950s-toys", "toy-animals", "bees-in-popular-culture", "kiwiana"] description: "New Zealand toy" topic_path: "geography/new-zealand" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzy_Bee" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary New Zealand toy ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/2024_Dunedin_Santa_Parade_buzzy_bee.jpg" caption="Buzzy Bee float at the [[Dunedin]] Santa Parade (2024)"] ::

The Buzzy Bee is a 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. Possibly based on another earlier concept, it was designed and first produced in Newton, Auckland, in the 1930s, by Maurice Schlesinger. It became popular during the post-war baby boom. Its bright colours and clicking sound call are familiar to many New Zealanders, making it one of the most well-recognised items of Kiwiana. Since this time however, the Buzzy Bee has branched out into various merchandise including books, puzzles and clothing.

Promotion

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Prince_Charles,_Princess_Diana_and_Prince_William_at_Government_House,_1983.jpg" caption="Prince William]] with his parents playing with a Buzzy Bee at [[Government House, Auckland]], during the 1983 tour of New Zealand" alt="A young William, sitting with his parents on a mat, playing with a toy"] ::

The Buzzy Bee received significant coverage during the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1983 with their infant son, Prince William, who played with a Buzzy Bee on the lawn of Government House.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Waiuku_Christmas_Parade_(2012).jpg" caption="Christmas parade]] (2012)"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Buzzybeeride.JPG" caption="Warkworth"] ::

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.

Adaptations

In June 2007, plans were unveiled for a Buzzy Bee stage show "Buzzy Bee's Big Day Out". The company behind the show also revealed that they had made an animated show reel and were finalising details of a distribution deal, and that they hoped to begin work on an animated series for television.

An animated TV show, Buzzy Bee and Friends, premiered on TV2 in 2009; 52 episodes were produced.

References

(8 July 1999). "Nasty sting in the tale of 'our' Buzzy Bee icon". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
Williams, Tony (2007). ''101 Incredible Kiwis: How New Zealanders Lead the World.'' Auckland: Reed Publishing.
"The History of Buzzy Bee". Buzzy Bee & friends.
Labrum, Bronwyn. (2015). "Real Modern: Everyday New Zealand in the 1950s and 1960s". Te Papa Press.
(23 April 2025). "Prince William meets 'buzzy bee'".
"Emirates Team NZ Unveil Buzzy Bee".
Joanna Hunkin. (2007-05-22). "Multi-million dollar Buzzy Bee stage show to hit the road". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
"TV Show". Lion Rock Ventures.
(2019). "Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film". McFarland & Co.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::