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. Designed and first produced in 1948 by Hec and John Ramsey, 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.

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  • 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. Designed and first produced in 1948 by Hec and John Ramsey, 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, the Buzzy Bee has branched out into various merchandise including books, jigsaws and clothing. It received a good deal of "free promotion" with the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1983 with their son, Prince William of Wales, who played with a Buzzy Bee. 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. 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'd 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 . Fisher-Price manufactured a Buzzy Bee from 1950-1956. Buzzy Bee was originally covered with paper lithographs depicting a yellow bee with pink cheeks, blue eyes, and striped tail. The bee had two spring antennae topped with red beads. Yellow acetate wings rotated and the toy made a "buzz-buzz" sound as it was pulled along on two wooden wheels. Buzzy Bee cost $.59 and was Fisher-Price's first toy to feature plastic. The toy was retired for a few years but returned in 1956 as Queen Buzzy Bee wearing a polyetheline crown. Queen Buzzy was manufactured through the mid-1980s.
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  • 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. Designed and first produced in 1948 by Hec and John Ramsey, 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.
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  • Buzzy Bee
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