The party has occasionally made national headlines, most infamously following the cave-in of an overcrowded roof in 2012 that prompted the move to a ticketed event.
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
Punters came dressed to the themes of one of the 33 flats on the street, ranging from traditional costume party fare like ‘cops and robbers’, ‘pilots and flight attendants’, ‘black cats and plague rats’, to more topical tropes such as ‘Coachella’, ‘Ice Spice’, ‘Squid Game’, ‘conspiracy theories’, and ‘up the wahs’.
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
Dunedin's Hyde St Party 2024. Photo / Ben Tomsett
Other costumes seen on the street included Scooby Doo’s Fred and Daphne, gangsters, priests, convicts and bananas.
The party runs until 6pm, and features plenty of free food and water as well as chill-out zones and a strong security and police presence.
Drug-checking agency Know Your Stuff NZ, St Johns, R U OK? and Red Frog, are also on site.
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
Dunedin resident Daniel Strang was returning to the street party for the fourth time, dressed as a banana, despite having graduated the previous year.
He was able to attend the party with a friend of a resident ticket.
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
He said he was looking forward to having a good time and enjoying the Dunedin weather, despite the overcast outlook.
Hyde St resident Jordan Sadlier said his flat had been preparing for the event for the past month, landing on the ‘Woodstock’ theme.
His flatmates had started partying at 7am, he said.
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
“But like, just easing into it - you’ve got to make it through the whole day.”
“Hyde St’s a pretty cool street, I like the culture around here. It’s a pretty close community, I know all my neighbours and we help each other out and stuff.”
Otago University Students Association (OUSA), who has run the event since 2013, president Keegan Wells said a lot of planning went into Hyde St to create a “fun, safe environment for students to party”.
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
The 2024 Dunedin Hyde St Party. Photo / Ben Tomsett
“It comes off the back of what used to be the Hyde St keg party, and now it’s done by us with a lot of safe controls, free food, and a lot of emergency services in case something goes wrong,” she said.
“I think the best part about Hyde is the costumes - every flat chooses its own theme... I think the bananas and the monkeys are probably my favourite.”
