{"id":541649,"date":"2026-07-24T08:29:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/541649\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T08:29:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:29:06","slug":"baagain-tiraus-giant-iron-sheep-and-ram-sell-for-over-1-5m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/541649\/","title":{"rendered":"Baagain: Tirau\u2019s giant iron sheep and ram sell for over $1.5m"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two New Zealand icons have sold at auction today for $1.53 million.<\/p>\n

The stars of countless tourist snaps and videos over the years \u2013 Tirau\u2019s corrugated-iron sheep and ram \u2013 were snapped up after 23 fast-paced bids.<\/p>\n

Bayleys auctioneer Ryan Bradley told those in the Bayleys Tauranga auction room on Wednesday that they were trophy investments. He started off the bidding by inviting people to make a \u201cbaa or a bark\u201d.<\/p>\n

The auction opened with a vendor bid of $1m, the property was announced on the market at $1.3m, and the property finally sold for $1.53m as two phone buyers fought over it.<\/p>\n

The million-dollar landmarks are home to the Big Sheep Honey and Souvenir Shop, The Ram SPCA Opportunity Shop and the Big Dog Visitor Information Centre on Tirau\u2019s main drag and are arguably the shining stars in what is known as the Corrugated Capital of the World.<\/p>\n

The vendor bought the properties 10 years ago for $1m but was parting with them as part of a sell-off of his investment portfolio.<\/p>\n

Bayleys agents Murray Madgwick and Brendon Bradley billed the properties \u2013 which have an RV of $1.39m \u2013 as an \u201cextraordinary opportunity to secure one of New Zealand\u2019s most iconic commercial investments\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

South Waikato District Council runs an information centre from the site. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The dog houses the information centre and has thousands of visitors going through its doors each year. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The SPCA opened its op shop in the ram in 2022 and described it as being the perfect fit with its animal welfare image. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cWidely regarded as one of the country\u2019s most photographed roadside attractions, the property enjoys exceptional exposure in a strategic tourism location connecting Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua,\u201d the agents wrote in their listing on OneRoof.<\/p>\n

The dog building is owned by the South Waikato District Council, which pays the vendor ground rent to occupy the northern part of the site for the T\u012brau Visitor Information Centre, public toilets and car parks.<\/p>\n

But as the auctioneer pointed out, \u201cWho would want a dog anyway? It\u2019s a dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

The land and buildings return a total net income of $115,000 a year.<\/p>\n

Discover more:<\/p>\n

– Shrek director Andrew Adamson quietly selling his $11m Grey Lynn pad<\/a><\/p>\n

– How a silver and gold coin worth $10 cost one family their home<\/a><\/p>\n

– Flooded home sells for surprise price after storms killed $330K sale<\/a><\/p>\n

Agent Bradley told OneRoof an investor had bought the property. He was unable to say where they were based but said it had attracted interest from all over the country including the South Island. Some people had also been interested in buying the sheep to run a cafe from it as had been done previously but backed away after learning there were long tenancy agreements in place. <\/p>\n

Confirmation that Burger King and Starbucks were opening in Tirau also gave people further confidence in investing in the gateway to the South Waikato, he said. \u201cThat was a real selling point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradley said the vendor was pleased with the result, which exceeded expectations, especially in a cautious market. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of volatility in the world. Not every auction do you get that number of bidders so it was the uniqueness of the property that attracted them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheep building was built in 1994 by former owners Nancy and John Drake, who ran a wool and craft store from the site. The ram joined the sheep in 2005, prompting the rest of the town to join the fun with their own signs, structures and works of art made from corrugated iron.<\/p>\n

Nancy told the New Zealand Herald in 2016 that it was a \u201cgamble\u201d to set up shop in Waikato, but it paid off immensely in the end.<\/p>\n

Thousands of local and international visitors stop at the giant corrugated animals every year \u2013 whether to get travel advice, pick up a souvenir or thrift item or to pose for a photo.<\/p>\n

– Click here to find more properties for sale<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two New Zealand icons have sold at auction today for $1.53 million. The stars of countless tourist snaps…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,1258,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-541649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-latest-news","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}