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Story: Shows and field days

Hawke’s Bay show, 1945

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The Hawke’s Bay show, held in the Hastings showgrounds each year on Labour weekend in late October, is seen as heralding the start of summer. In 1945, some 40,000 people turned out to picnic in the sun.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 219. National Film Unit, 1945

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Shows and field days – Shows as entertainment, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/16787/hawkes-bay-show-1945 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 1 March 2009.