Tūātapere & Districts - Events History, the Backwaters Festival of 1987

Shared by Central & Western Murihiku Southland Archive

Tūātapere & Districts - Events History, the Backwaters Festival of 1987: Did you know that Tūātapere was once the scene of a large music festival?! The local Lions & Lionesses clubs were instrumental in fundraising for the community, with one of their largest ever undertakings, being the once far-famed "Backwaters" Festival, started in 1987 as per this historical article. If you would like to view a clearer copy, download the .pdf from link above. IMPORTANT NOTICE: this article is COPYRIGHT and this copy is only for preservation purposes. There is a .pdf of the article that is downloadable for viewing purposes only, please respect legal limitations and do not reproduce. Transcription: Article entitled - "BACKWATERS 87 & a half a ton of hot chips! Top image reads - Cars stream into the scenic domain at Tuatapere just before the start of BACKWATERS 87. Tuatapere is a farming and milling centre for Western Southland and is one of the most WesterlyTowns in NZ. In probably the Tuatapere Lion's and Lioness Clubs most ambitious project, $15,000 was raised for youth in Western Southland. Over 3,500 people attended their Backwaters 87 music festival which aimed to give listeners six hours of non stop music from five top rated Southland bands. Almost every Lion and Lioness from the Tuatapere clubs participated in the 813 man hour project [Archivists Note: I'm reading this now and left wondering how many "women hours" there were?!] and the festival was an organised, enjoyable and trouble free afternoon - one of the largest gatherings Tuatapere (pop. 900) has had for years. Tuatapere is near the edge of Southern Fiordland. The idea for backwaters was kindled by Mrs Margaret Smith and Lion Phillip Ryan involved the clubs support. A well spent $3,000 of publicity and great team work meant that everything depended on the weather. A lovely morning (great), three hours of solid rain from 3pm (blast! where are the tarpaulins?), and a pleasant evening to finish, (terrific!). Dozens arrived only to leave, but thousands stayed to soak in music from bands ACE, INN-FLITE, FACE VALUE, SISTER EUROPE and VISION, to dance an area of the domain to mud, and to feast on food and drinks from the Lioness and Lions kitchens and caravans. The organisers had positioned the huge covered stage (which VISION filled with heavy amplifiers), marked the car park for about a thousand cars, brought in and built up kitchens, set up drinks caravans, positioned extra toilet facilities and groomed the grass. A free information sheet advised entrance fee, parking, and safety instructions etc and helped the ten gatemen and ten car park attendants park 750 vehicles at a peak rate of one every five seconds. The supply of half a ton of golden hot chips, 2,100 hot dogs, 1,000 hamburgers, 200 pies, 200 sausages, 350 dozen cans of drink plus ice creams, kept a roster of 15 Lionesses in two hour shifts really busy for eight hours. They were helped by another dozen or so hard working, vat cooking Lions, and drinks people. The total takings almost reached $30,000, and the treasurer made one discreet journey to the vault with $16,000 cash. The police, first aid people etc, reported no incident and 45 scouts restored the domain the next day by removing two huge trucks of garbage. Comments to the organisers and even to talk back radio demand a repeat performance. February the 7th 1988 is in the committee's sights. Move over '87' - here comes BACKWATERS 88. Lower image reads: As BACKWATERS 87 concludes, hundreds of people seem reluctant to leave the damp but totally successful festival. The MC was Mr Alan Davis of Foveaux Radio." END NOTE: We found information that this festival did also happen in 1988, but if anyone knows how many years this festival ran in total, please let us know. If you or anyone you know has any more photos, information or accounts of the "Backwaters" Festival/s during the years, and especially memories of being there, please do share these in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page.