History of the Buzzy Bee

An iconic Kiwi Toy, the Buzzy Bee, is a pull along wooden toy whose wings rotate and make a clicking noise as it moves. It became popular in the Post-War Baby Boom, and in most New Zealand families there is a Buzzy Bee that has been handed down through the generations.

Originally made by Toy Designer Maurice Schlesinger in the late 1930’s in Auckland, but he became ill and was forced to close his workshop, which meant the production of Buzzy Bees stopped. Luckily Hec Ramsey came along, who was a salesman for Schlesinger’s distributor CL Stevensons. He saw a gap in the market for the popular toy so began reproducing the now iconic Kiwiana Toy.

The Buzzy Bee has since featured in Museums, paintings, sculptures, television programmes, television advertisements, postage stamps and magazine covers to name a few.

The Buzzy Bee was given as a gift to Prince William on his first visit to New Zealand with his parents The Prince and Princess of Wales in 1983. Prince William loved the little clickedy clackedy pull-along toy. It has also been given to Princess Aiko of Japan and the Spanish Royal Family.