Local Claims to Fame: Rural Identity Assertion in New Zealand

Abstract

Throughout New Zealand, giant roadside objects—sheep, cows, dogs—and murals depicting local history denote local claims to fame. As a collection, these artifacts tell the rural sector’s story of agriculture and productivity. The 1980s rural downturn led to a declining rural population and a perceived declining status of rural dwellers. The ongoing construction of place markers indicates that the need to express identity is a continuous project. In the face of the huge competition for markets and for media attention, as a consequence of globalization, local residents draw from what they know best: versions of their own history and of local character.