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Story: Arts festivals

Nambassa, 1979

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Puppet theatre, ploughing demonstrations, lectures on homeopathy, guided meditation and performances by Limbs dancers and Split Enz were just some of the experiences on offer at Nambassa. Held on a farm near Waihī, the counter-culture hippie Nambassa festival attracted 60,000 people in 1979, far outstripping the expected numbers. 

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Reference: Nambassa festival [videorecording]. Producers, Peter Terry and Dale Farnsworth; director and editor Philip Howe. Nambassa Trust, 1979

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How to cite this page

Marguerite Hill, Arts festivals – Music festivals from the 1960s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/45229/nambassa-1979 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Marguerite Hill, published 13 May 2014, updated 1 August 2016.