Back to where it all began in 1968
Photos and film of five decades of Fieldays provided the backdrop at the Te Rapa Racecourse for the launch of the 50th year of Fieldays recently.
As everyone in attendance reminisced, Fieldays chief executive Peter Nation acknowledged the stalwarts and volunteers whose contribution had made the agricultural event the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Now contributing a half billion dollars to New Zealand’s economy, the event came from humble beginnings.
Tipping its hat at its historical partnerships, the Fieldays Society launched this year’s event at the racecourse, the event’s original home before moving to Mystery Creek in 1971.
Many who attended the event were responsible for organising the inaugural Fieldays in 1969, including John Kneebone, who first sparked the idea for a town and country fair in New Zealand following a trip to the UK as a Nuffield scholar.
Nation gave thanks to the original six farmers of the Fieldays Society, whose tenacity and perseverance paved the way for the event to become the premier agricultural showcase
‘‘Those first six farmers approached ANZ in North Hamilton for a 100 per cent loan of $62,500, $430,000 in today’s money so that they could move Fieldays to Mystery Creek.’’
At the time Mystery Creek, a run-down dairy farm had been identified as the site to house the event for future growth.
‘‘The story goes the bank asked what security they had for the loan, and one of the farmers tossed a roll of copper wire on the bank manager’s desk and said, ‘this is the only asset we own’.’’
The wire had been used for communication at Fieldays over the loudspeakers at Te Rapa Racecourse, where it was removed each year and put into storage for safekeeping.
Back in 1969 the organisers at that first event estimated they would need 3000 people through the gates to break even,’’ he said
‘‘Forget the three, 10,000 turned up, but not all were willing to pay the 50 cents admission as a number of them jumped the fences. There were cars parked all the way back up the Te Rapa straight, which was farmland back then.’’