LONDON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A large Kiwi chalk figure carved into a hillside in the English county of Wiltshire was Wednesday declared as an official monument by the government's Department for Culture.
The sculpture commemorates lives lost and sacrifices made by New Zealand troops in the World War I.
The Bulford Kiwi, a large white chalk figure was carved into the hillside above the Bulford military camp in Wiltshire by New Zealand troops at the end of the First World War.
It has been given protection to mark the centenary of the Battle of Messines, which ended on June 14, 1917 after seven days of fighting.
The chalk Kiwi stands 130 meters high and has a 46 meter long beak, was created by New Zealand soldiers stationed at the end of WWI while they were waiting to go home. It commemorates the lives lost and sacrifices made in the war.
A second monument in England, known as the Terrain Model of Messines, an accurate scale model of the battlefield, has also been granted protection on the advice of Historic England.
It was an accurate scale model of the battlefield created by the New Zealand Rifle Brigade to celebrate the important victory at the Battle of Messines and to train new recruits at a military camp.
The model became neglected and was lost until it was recently excavated and is the only known model of its type.
Historic England's Roger Bowdler, said: "These two monuments pay tribute to the bravery of New Zealand's fighting forces in the First World War and we are delighted that they are now being protected for the future.
Sir Jerry Mateparae, New Zealand High Commissioner to Britain said: "It's fantastic to see Historic England protecting two very significant sites of huge importance for New Zealand. It is moving to see these sites protected for generations to come."
