Bulls residents are concerned that a logo design owned by the community will not be included in the design of the town's new welcome sign.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Bulls residents are concerned that a logo design owned by the community will not be included in the design of the town's new welcome sign.
Photo / Bevan Conley
It may seem like a load of bull to anyone living outside the Rangitīkei district, but to people who live in the town of Bulls it is about their identity.
A potential new sign welcoming people into the township caused some serious debate at a Rangitīkei District Council (RDC) meetingin August when Bulls & District Community Trust chairwoman Helen Scully suggested the new sign could be linked to the black bull statues in town.
In 2016 the Bulls & District Community Trust and the now-defunct Lions Club teamed up to pay for 17 black bull, cow and calf statues which have since become popular landmarks. They are placed at local schools and in prominent places around the town.
"They are intrinsically linked to the town's image and immediately recognisable," Scully said.
"Nothing has been decided and the new signage is still a way off."
Some Bulls residents are opposed to the inclusion of imagery relating to bovine statues on a new welcome sign.
Photo / File
Rangitīkei District Council member for Bulls Graeme Platt is concerned that well-established branding for the town, which predates the statutes by around 30 years, will be lost if new proposals are adopted.
A document tabled by Platt at the Bulls Community Committee meeting on September 15 relates the history of the logo and the "A'Bull" slogan used by local businesses and facilities for three decades.
"I have produced a public document so people who are new to Bulls can learn about the history of the brand and how well-established it is.
"I was a member of the Enterprise Committee at the time and we held a competition for a logo design that was distinctive and would belong to the people of Bulls.
"The winning design by Doug Betteridge has been refined twice since then but it remains an image that is immediately recognisable."
Platt said he believed it was wrong to change something that was recognised around the world and to do so without properly consulting the rightful owners.
"People were offered the opportunity to select one of two designs and the status quo was not one of those options."
Platt said he did not have any objections to the bull statues in the town but did not believe they represented the town like the long-established logo.
His views are supported by a petition initiated by Helen Cooper of Bulls and fellow resident Heather Thorby has raised serious concerns over the integrity of the public consultation process of the new sign with the RDC.
Scully said the RDC presented possible new signage options to several towns in the district in 2018.
"We are not looking to do away with the A'Bull slogan or the logo," Scully said.
