Fieldays 2025: Inside the Health and Wellbeing Hub

The Health and Wellbeing Hub at Fieldays covers visitors from top to toe this year.

Hub lead partner Mobile Health Group’s chief executive, Mark Eager, said a diverse group of around 45 health-related organisations will feature at Mystery Creek.

“They work collaboratively to support the health and wellbeing of rural New Zealanders.”

Eager said Mobile Health originally took its mobile surgical unit to Fieldays but added other health providers in 2016 when it became the lead partner in the Health and Wellbeing Hub.

“Our role, alongside a brilliant team, is to coordinate the hub, bringing the partners together, managing logistics, and ensuring the kaupapa stays strong, making health and wellbeing easier to access, especially for those who often miss out.”

Mobile Health also provides breakfast and lunch for the 200-plus people manning the hub.

“It’s about giving back to the rural community,” Eager said.

“What started as a one-off initiative has grown into a coordinated, cooperative movement that’s now a key feature of Fieldays.”

With about 30,000 people through its doors over the four days, Eager said the Health and Wellbeing Hub was the second most-popular attraction at Fieldays behind the tractor pull.

He said the hub involved just 10 health-related organisations when it began 15 years ago.

“It’s not about flashy stands or hard sells. It’s about access.

“Many of our rural communities don’t have easy access to health information or services, so we bring it to them, in a format that’s practical, friendly, and supportive.”

Hub operation

Mobile Health Group CEO Mark Eager outside the mobile surgical unit.

Eager said what made the hub special was how it operated.

“It’s not just a collection of exhibitors; it’s a coordinated collective.

“We all work together.

“Our Health Navigators are out the front, engaging with visitors and helping connect them with the right provider, whether it’s about eyesight, hearing, oral health, bowel screening, diabetes, mental health, or support after a tough season on the farm.

“You name the body part, and chances are someone in the hub is looking after it.”

The mix of commercial operators and charities also covers topics including mobility and brain injury support, along with groups such as the Rural Support Trust.

Eager said the audience at Fieldays was broad - farmers, rural workers, whānau, students, and “even urban visitors who stumble in”.

“The common thread is people who want practical, honest information or support, often for themselves, sometimes for someone they care about.”