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Canterbury A&P Show

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The New Zealand Agricultural Show
Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Metropolitan Show, held at the Addington Showgrounds, c. 1910
Statusactive
Date(s)15–17 November 2023
FrequencyAnnually
VenueCanterbury Agricultural Park (since 1997)
Location(s)Wigram, Christchurch
CountryNew Zealand
Years active162
Inaugurated22 October 1862 (1862-10-22)
FounderCanterbury A&P Association
Previous event9–11 November 2022
Next event15–17 November 2023
Participants5000 competitors and over 3000 animals on-site
AttendanceOver 100,000
PeoplePresident – Anne Rogers.
Member2500 financial members
Websitewww.theshow.co.nz

The New Zealand Agricultural Show (formerly the Canterbury A&P Show) is hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association. It is the largest agricultural and pastoral show in New Zealand and features a unique combination of agriculture and entertainment. The Show has welcomed over one million visitors since moving to Canterbury Agricultural Park in 1997. The Show attracts on average 100,000 people, over 5000 livestock and features competition entries and over 600 trade exhibitors.

History

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The first Agricultural and Pastoral Show in Christchurch was held in a paddock north of Latimer Square on 22 October 1862.[1] The Canterbury A&P Association was formed a few weeks later on 23 January 1863, with Robert Wilkin as its first president.[1] In April 1863, the A&P Association purchased 14 acres (5.7 ha) in Colombo Street South for show grounds; this is now Sydenham Park.[1] In November 1887, new show grounds opened in Addington.[2][3]

In 1996, a much larger facility of 145 hectares (1.45 km2) was bought in Wigram located on Curletts Road; it was the first purpose-built facility in New Zealand. It was named Canterbury Agricultural Park and was first used for the 1997 show.[3]

In 2018, the association took the decision to rebrand the show to the New Zealand Agricultural Show. The move caused some controversy amongst the Royal Agricultural Society.[4] In recent years the show has trended away from its origin as a commercial farming trade show, and moved more towards an outdoor retail, education[5] and entertainment event.[6]

The only cancellations were in 1919,[citation needed] 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 lockdowns.[7] In 2024 the show was cancelled due to financial difficulties,[8] however it was later reinstated to go ahead as The Christchurch Show.[9] Attendance was 115,000 visitors over the weekend in 2022,[10] and 125,000 in 2023.[11]

Anniversary Day

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New Zealand law provides an anniversary day for each province. The anniversary day for the Canterbury Province was originally 16 December, the day of the arrival in 1850 of the first two of the First Four Ships, the Charlotte Jane and the Randolph.[12] The Friday of the A&P Show had since at least 1918 been the People's Day or Show Day,[3] and sometime between 1955 and 1958, Christchurch City Council moved the anniversary day to coincide with Show Day, as this allowed banks and businesses to close and people to attend the A&P Show.

The definition for Show Day is the "second Friday after the first Tuesday of November (i.e. Show Day will be two weeks after the first Tuesday in November — on a Friday, mainly so that it does not clash with the Melbourne Cup Racing Carnival)" (note that Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday in November).[13] The anniversary day as set for the A&P Show is observed in mid and North Canterbury, whilst South Canterbury observes Dominion Day (the fourth Monday of September).[13][14]

Christchurch/Canterbury New Zealand Cup Week

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The Show coincides with the Cup week that has the a number of major horse and greyhound races, notably:

The various race meetings contain a number of other key races in each of these racing codes.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Wigram 1916, p. 257.
  2. ^ Wigram 1916, p. 262.
  3. ^ a b c "The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association Show". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Association opts for rebranding", Otago Daily Times, 7 August 2018, archived from the original on 8 August 2018, retrieved 27 January 2024
  5. ^ Malthus, Nigel (9 November 2023), "Showcasing why farming matters", Rural News Group, archived from the original on 10 November 2023, retrieved 27 January 2024
  6. ^ Casey, Alex (17 November 2023), "What I discovered at New Zealand's biggest agricultural show", The Spinoff, retrieved 27 January 2024
  7. ^ Walton, Steven (6 October 2021), "Canterbury's famed agricultural show cancelled for second time due to Covid-19", Stuff, archived from the original on 8 November 2022, retrieved 27 January 2024
  8. ^ Gibbs, Tatiana; Gill, Sinead (17 April 2024). "New Zealand Agricultural Show scrapped for 2024". Stuff. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  9. ^ "'Slimmed-down': NZ Agricultural Show to go ahead this year". NZ Herald. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Canterbury A&P Show a 'huge success' after 115,000 turn out", Newstalk ZB, 13 November 2022, archived from the original on 25 November 2022, retrieved 27 January 2024
  11. ^ Kerr-Laurie, Brett (17 November 2023), "Boot bonanza on final Show day", The Press, retrieved 27 January 2024
  12. ^ Swarbrick, Nancy (16 December 2013). "Public holidays – Celebrating communities". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  13. ^ a b "New Zealand Cup and Show Week and Canterbury Anniversary". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  14. ^ "New Zealand public holiday dates 2011–13". Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.

References

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