Chris Allum and AJ Hackett revisiting Hāpuawhenua Viaduct, the site of the world's first commercial bungy jumping operation. Photo / Logan Tutty
Chris Allum and AJ Hackett revisiting Hāpuawhenua Viaduct, the site of the world's first commercial bungy jumping operation. Photo / Logan Tutty
Two lifelong friends who put bungy jumping on the map have taken a trip down memory lane and revisited the site of the world's first commercial operation in over 30 years.
Logan Tutty was there.
AJ Hackett - the pioneer of bungy jumping - and his good friend and businesspartner Chris Allum have returned to site where it all began as a commercial venture more than 30 years ago.
The Hāpuawhenua Viaduct site - in the Tongariro National Park - is recognised as the world's first commercial bungy operation.
The pair have tried to tee up this reunion at Hāpuawhenua for years, but it never manifested itself as they were never in the country at the same time.
Fresh out of lockdown in Auckland, the pair jumped at the opportunity to visit the site before Hackett goes back to his home in France at the end of the year.
"We've been wanting to do this ... we haven't been here in over 30 years. It is unreal," Allum said.
"It has to be one of the most powerful places on Earth."
Located just minutes north of Ohakune, the Hāpuawhenua Viaduct was completed in 1908.
There were calls to replace the viaduct in the 1960s as the curve in the bridge meant locomotives were restricted to just 50km/h when they were crossing it.
A new, straighter viaduct was proposed that would allow electrification, quicker travelling time and trains to carry heavier loads.
In 1987, the 'new' Hāpuawhenua Viaduct was completed, which saw the 'old' viaduct fall temporarily into disuse.
Hackett had recently returned to New Zealand from France, where he gained worldwide notoriety after jumping off the Eiffel Tower.
The disused viaduct would soon become Hackett and Allum's latest playground.
They started a series of tests and continued to refine their bungy systems; playing around with different rack systems, how to pull the bungy up after the jump, counterweights and more.
At the time, the pair owned a shop in Ohakune and were struggling a bit financially.
Desperate to get the bank some money, Allum convinced Hackett to commercialise the bungy jump for a one-off event on an upcoming long-weekend in an attempt to recoup some of their losses.
Hackett was apprehensive at first.
"I said alright; but it will need to be a lot of money though because I really didn't want to jump strangers, it was really a personal thrill," Hackett said.
"It was more just for friends, it was a really private thing at the time."
Allum said once Hackett had finely tuned the system and done all the testing, the bungy jump was "absolutely predictable".
"I needed to know it was predictable, because I'm not into dying, and I'm not getting smashed up for no reason. I understood there was risk," Hackett said.
"We soon realised, as long as you knew the height you were jumping from, the weight of the person and the size of the bungy for the person, then it was really predictable."
It was 'relatively simple' getting DoC to sign up to the adventure craze, Allum said.
"I don't think we even needed insurance or anything. We had already done quite a bit of stuff so you show them the videos, 'whoa, that's not for us but you obviously know what you are doing so go for it," Hackett said.
The 'old' Hāpuawhenua Viaduct is a Historic Place Category 1 listed place by Heritage New Zealand. Photo / Logan Tutty
The site became operational in 1988, with the pair setting the price at $100 for two jumps, and an extra $25 for the exclusive T-shirt for completing the jump.
On their first day of operation, they had only five customers.
"There were heaps of people there. I would say there were over 100 people watching, but only five paid to jump," Hackett said.
Needing to get rid of the bulk order of shirts they had, they lowered the price to $75 for the jump and the T-shirt to try to get more people to jump.
"The next day, we jumped like 80 people. The following day, we ran out of shirts and had to order them in," Hackett said.
What was meant to be a way to quickly erase some debt soon became the activity the whole town was talking about, with more than 100 people a day taking the jump.
Over the first couple of weeks of the bungy being operational, Allum said there was hardly a person at [the bar] that didn't have a bungy T-shirt on.
"Decades on, we would fly somewhere internationally and you will see someone wearing one of those shirts from 30 years ago. It is insane."
The Hāpuawhenua Viaduct site closed in 1990 due to competition in Taupo. It reopened in 1992 before closing for good in 1993.
Made a Historic Place Category 1 by Heritage New Zealand in 1995, Senior Heritage Advisor at the Department of Conservation Paul Mahoney is hoping to raise some money for some new placards recognising the site and crediting Hackett and Allum as part of that history.
"My first link to Hackett was in 1988 getting the permit for him to jump off the Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown in 1988.
"It was a big part of New Zealand adventure tourism. It certainly added another dimension for people who came over to New Zealand."
Some four million jumps later at numerous venues all across the globe, the pair still can't fathom its impact.
"It is just a stunning place. Right in the middle of National Park. It doesn't get much better," Hackett said.
In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hackett was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to adventure tourism.
"This is where it all started. Right here. It is just so special," Allum said.
