Bulls

Bulls is named after James Bull, an English settler who arrived in 1858, and at some point the town decided to make the most of it. Every public building carries a sign: the police station is const-a-bull, the fire station extinguish-a-bull, the medical centre cure-a-bull, the church forgive-a-bull, the information centre inform-a-bull, the toilets relieve-a-bull, and the town's slogan is a town like no udder. It is relentless and entirely deliberate - a small highway town's answer to being driven past. The result is that people stop, photograph the signs and buy something, which was the aim. There is also a landmark: the town's war memorial, and the Rangitikei River nearby. Bulls sits at the junction of two state highways, so it is a natural break on the drive between Wellington and Whanganui or Taranaki, and that is essentially its function.

History

The town is named after James Bull, who owned its first general store; first called Bull Town, it was renamed Clifton and then, at the urging of Sir William Fox, Bulls again. The Parewahawaha meeting house of the Ngāti Raukawa hapū Ngāti Parewahawaha was opened on 15 April 1967 by the Māori Queen Te Atairangikaahu (Wikipedia, Bulls, New Zealand).

Highlights

• The pun signs - on every public building in the town.
• The town slogan - a town like no udder.
• The highway junction - SH1 meeting SH3, which is why it exists.
• The Rangitikei River - just outside the town.

When to go

Any time; it is a highway stop of half an hour to an hour. Daytime, when the shops and the information centre are open.

Before you go

The joke is the attraction, and it wears thin quickly for some visitors. There is little else in the town. Traffic on SH1 runs through the middle of it.

Nearby

Palmerston North is east; Whanganui and the Rangitikei valley are north.

Key facts