The half mile dash on Marine Parade during the 1929 Mardi Gras carnival. Credit: Hawke's Bay Knowledge Bank Townshend Collection L4004 002
Napier knows how to put on a New Zealand famous festival, and for well over 100 years has done so.
It was Mr H M Didsbury, Napier manager of New Zealand Insurance Company, who floated the idea of the formation of the 30,000 Club (a service organisation that was to serve Napier until the population reached 30,000) to hold a "Mardi Gras" in 1913. The Mardi Gras was based on continental and American carnivals.
Its first 'festival director' would be John Hopkins – a position he would hold for quite a few years. He became quite successful at organising the carnival and possibly became New Zealand's first professional event director when he was contracted to other towns for similar carnivals during the 1920s – but Napier's was arguably the most successful.
World War I caused the 1917 to 1918 Mardi Gras carnivals to be cancelled, however the Mardi Gras was back in 1919/20 for eight days from Boxing Day to New Year's Day.
A Carnival Queen carnival contest was held that year, and the winner decided by popular vote for the first time – not by a judging panel.
The prize – something quite radical for the time – was a first class return trip to Sydney and £25 (2021: $2900) spending money. It would be won by Taradale's Airini Perry – who in an act described as "sport of the highest order" gave her prize to another candidate, Miss E Forrest.
"A Community Sing", apparently the first ever in New Zealand, was held during the 1919 Mardi Gras at the Napier Municipal Theatre.
Māori were included in the Mardi Gras and performances were put on at Marine Parade.
Similar to the Napier City Council's (and now other councils throughout Hawke's Bay) significant help with the Art Deco Festival, the 30,000 Club approached the Napier Borough Council in 1919 saying the Mardi Gras needed their assistance for grounds and theatre usage, which was given.
In 1923 the 30,000 Club held a nationwide competition for a "Mardigrasgram" in which people had to start with the letters "Napier Mardi Gras" and follow on with a sentence starting with the first letter of the Mardi Gras in order. An example was given - "Napier Mardi Gras Makes All Revellers Dabble In Good Recreation And Society".
Thirty-five pounds ($4000) in prizes were offered up for the winning entries. The top winning entries were "Napier Mardi Gras Magnetises Auntie Rejuvenates Dad Interests Grandma result all smiling" and "Napier's Mardi Gras Means Absolute Ripping Days In Glorious Resort At Seaside".
The first prize of £25 ($2800) went to C W Lloyd of Blenheim who submitted "Napier's Mardi Gras Must Always Remain Dominion's Inimitable Gala Remarkable And Spectacular".
Organisers past and present of Napier's Art Deco Festival may have experienced challenges from organising traffic flows during the events.
In 1929 the Mardi Gras employed temporary traffic officers. One man was given the responsibility that no traffic was to come up a short street onto Marine Parade, only downwards traffic was allowed.
A motorist (there were these types of people even then) decided this rule wasn't for him and gave notice of his intention to drive up the street. Taking his job very seriously, the attendant lay down in front of the car. The motorist admitted he was beaten and drove away.
During the January 1931 Mardi Gras – a few weeks before the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake - a sideshow operator offered £1 ($120) if anyone could kiss a lady in his troupe who was well versed in the art of ju-jitsu.
A man, who was said to have "celebrated the holidays, well, but not wisely", held up his own pound note and said the sideshow operator could claim it if his ju-jitsu expert would attempt to kiss him. This offer, much to the man's disappointment was not accepted by the sideshow operator.
Later that year, in December 1931, with some surprise around New Zealand, the Mardi Gras carnival went ahead despite Napier being in the midst of its earthquake recovery. The funds raised from this carnival and those held over the next few years would pay for many of the Marine Parade fixtures we see today, such as the Sound Shell, New Napier arch, Veronica Sunbay and outdoor concrete auditorium (former skating rink).
As shown in the photograph, a men's half mile (.8km) was run on the Marine Parade as part of the Friendly Societies sports day. This was held, I believe, on December 31, 1929. What got my attention is the wearing of what appears, multiple pairs of socks as running shoes!
As a past chairman of the Art Deco Trust, I realise the Art Deco Festival is not everybody's "cup of tea", and in some cases it causes annoyance. However, for thousands of people it is a joyous occasion and celebrated especially by Napier people in the grand tradition of the Mardi Gras stretching back nearly 110 years.
The Art Deco Festival's economic benefits – also like the Mardi Gras carnival – are substantial for Napier. Accommodation for visitors outside of Hawke's Bay to attend the Mardi Gras was hard to get for the carnival even 100 years ago.
The Mardi Gras carnival from 1914 to 1945 went through two world wars, a crippling Great Depression, an influenza pandemic, and a devastating earthquake. So for us – all that occurring from 2001 to the present. The Mardi Gras survived and flourished for almost another 40 years.
Festival director Greg Howie and the rest of the Art Deco Trust team have worked hard over the past two years amid all the challenges that Covid-19 has thrown at them. Many of us will wish them well for the upcoming week's festival.
The photograph of the smiling faces experiencing entertainment on the Marine Parade band rotunda for the 1929 Mardi Gras is what makes a festival worthwhile.
Enjoy and have fun at the 2022 Art Deco Festival this coming week if you are planning to participate ‒ and stay safe.
- During the Napier Art Deco Festival Michael Fowler will be operating Art Deco/earthquake tours in the Hastings CBD. Limited to 10 people per tour and there is Covid-19 vaccine requirement. A few spaces are left on tours during February 17 to 19 at 1pm and Saturday 10am. Tickets from https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2022/feb/deco-hastings-earthquake-walk.
Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a contract researcher and commercial business writer of Hawke's Bay history. Follow him on facebook.com/michaelfowlerhistory
Farmers at 'one of the more definitive crossroads in the history of our region'.