The Wānaka A&P Show is a regular fixture on the local calendar, attracting tens of thousands of people from all over the country every year, and ahead of the 2023 show, the grounds are buzzing with activity as the many people involved prepare for the crowds and revelry of its 85th year.

Enjoying the show is easy: there are equestrian events, farm animal competitions, food, and wine, stalls, entertainment, and regular celebrity sightings. Amid the fanfare it’s easy to forget the long history of the event, its significance to the region, and its roots - which go all the way back to 1700s Britain. 

The first ‘A&P (Agriculture and Pastoral) Show’ was held in the Scottish Highlands in 1882. Sixteen years later the Royal Agricultural Society was founded in England.

In the early days shows were firmly farm and farmer focused, promoting advances in farming and fostering the use of scientific techniques.

Pre-boom Wānaka and its smaller A&P Show.

European immigrants moving to New Zealand were largely expected to work in agriculture, and the first New Zealand A&P show was held in the Bay of Islands in 1842.

By the 1870s, some associations were holding annual shows. From then until the First World War, at least one A&P society was set up each year, and shows became common – in Southland in 1884 shows were held at Riverton, Gore, Wyndham and Invercargill. By the 1950s there were well over 100 shows held annually.

Trade stalls add all sorts of shopping opportunities.

The Upper Clutha A&P Show was started by local farmers in 1895. The society’s first president was John Hunt (best known as J.S), the grandfather of Phill Hunt, who still farms in the Maungawera Valley with his wife Lizzie Carruthers. Phill and his father Bill were both show presidents.

The first local show was held in Alexandra, and in 1933 it was shifted to Wānaka, where it is still based at the same picturesque lakefront site in the centre of town.

The modern A&P Show has entertainment galore.

Show event manager Jane Stalker, who has been involved since 1997, said things have changed a lot since her early days in the role.

“The perception of the A&P show was that it was a bit staid; a bit old-fashioned,” Jane said. Expectations were lower in the past, she says, but that began to change around a decade ago.

“Wānaka has changed; the whole event industry has changed,” Jane said. Over time the logistics were streamlined, and the expectations of competitors and trade exhibitors also increased.

“It’s run as a business now,” she said. “Every year it's changing and you can lift the bar a bit. You can't rest on your laurels.”

The show now attracts roughly 40,000 people each year, including patrons, exhibitors and competitors. It’s one of the South Island’s largest and most popular A&P shows, and it offers a vast variety of reasons to visit.

Regular live entertainment is now a mainstay at the event. There are more than 500 stalls, with everything from farming equipment to homeware and clothing available. And of course there are the more traditional events; equestrian and getting to see the animals up close, the famous Jack Russell race, fairground rides for children, and the baking, crafts and photography in the extraordinary home industry displays.

Despite the evolution of the Upper Clutha A&P Show, its constitution (written in 1933) still seems appropriate: “To provide meetings, concerts and entertainment of every description for the benefit of persons residing in the vicinity of Pembroke.”

Almost 100 years later it still rings true. Perhaps that’s what makes the Wānaka A&P Show so special.

PHOTO: Wānaka A&P Show