The New Zealand Agricultural Show | |
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![]() Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Metropolitan Show, held at the Addington Showgrounds, c. 1910 | |
Status | active |
Date(s) | 15–17 November 2023 |
Frequency | Annually |
Venue | Canterbury Agricultural Park (since 1997) |
Location(s) | Wigram, Christchurch |
Country | New Zealand |
Years active | 161 |
Inaugurated | 22 October 1862 |
Founder | Canterbury A&P Association |
Previous event | 9–11 November 2022 |
Next event | 15–17 November 2023 |
Participants | 5000 competitors and over 3000 animals on-site |
Attendance | Over 100,000 |
People | President – Anne Rogers. |
Member | 2500 financial members |
Website | www |
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.
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]
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]
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.
Canterbury is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of 44,503.88 square kilometres (17,183.04 sq mi), making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of 666,300.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch lies in the Canterbury Region, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by Banks Peninsula. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with a large urban park along its banks. Christchurch has a reputation for being an 'English' city, with its architectural identity and common nickname the "Garden City" due to similarities with garden cities in England.
Addington is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is sited 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south-west of the city centre.
Wigram is a suburb in the southwest of Christchurch, New Zealand. The suburb lies close to the industrial estates of Sockburn and the satellite retail and residential zone of Hornby, and has undergone significant growth in recent years due to housing developments. It is seven kilometres to the west of the city centre.
Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 earthquake and demolished in 2019. It has since been transformed into a public park with facilities for community sport, and was re-opened in June 2022.
The New Zealand Cup is a thoroughbred horse race run at the Riccarton Park Racecourse in Christchurch.
The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch.
The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The 1000 Guineas is a Group One set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of 1600 metres at Riccarton Park in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The 2000 Guineas is a Group One set-weight Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of 1600 metres at Riccarton Park in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Wigram Airfield Circuit was a temporary motor racing circuit at Wigram Aerodrome, Christchurch, New Zealand. The airfield is a former base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It is named after Sir Henry Wigram. The temporary circuit was 3.540 km (2.200 mi) with a 1.3 km (0.81 mi) main straight. The first summer meetings held at Wigram Aerodrome in 1949 are considered the oldest motor races in New Zealand. The track hosted rounds of the annual Tasman Series from 1964 to 1975. For safety reasons, the last race at Wigram was held in the year 2000.
The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand.
Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style:
The Dominion is a race held at the Addington Raceway each year in Christchurch, New Zealand for standardbred horses.
Addington Raceway or The Met is the home of the Metropolitan Trotting Club in Addington, Christchurch in New Zealand. The venue consists of a trotting track, a greyhound track, conference centre and restaurants. It is also home to many feature harness races such as: The New Zealand Trotting Cup and the Dominion Handicap.
Andrew Duncan was Mayor of Christchurch 1869–1870. From a working-class background in Scotland, he emigrated to New Zealand as a young man and became a highly respected member of the Christchurch community. He is remembered for his later work as an immigration agent in Scotland on behalf of the Canterbury Province.
Megan Cherie Woods is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as a Cabinet Minister in the Sixth Labour Government and has served as Member of Parliament for Wigram since 2011.
Stanley Andrews was a New Zealand cricketer. He played in six first-class matches for Canterbury between 1933 and 1936. His son Bryan played Test cricket for New Zealand in the 1970s.
There are eight Greyhound racing clubs operating in New Zealand. They are all affiliated with Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ). Racing in New Zealand is governed by the New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB) in accordance with the Racing Act 2003.
Sport in Christchurch has developed from the time of the initial settlement of Canterbury by British migrants, and remains an important part of community life. Cricket and rugby union have been popular team sports since the early years of settlement, with the first cricket club established in the city in 1851, and the first rugby club in 1863. Interest in organised sports has diversified and now includes a wide range of codes. In 2022, the top five sporting codes in Canterbury based on club membership were netball, touch rugby, rugby union, golf and cricket.