41-657: The Hokitika Wildfoods Festival is an annual event held in early March in Hokitika , New Zealand . Its main attraction is an array of unusual foods, including huhu grubs , lamb's testicles, and horse semen. The Wildfoods festival was started in 1990 by Hokitika local Claire Bryant, a producer of gorse -flower and rose-petal wine, who wanted to celebrate the flavours and produce of the West Coast . The first festival in March 1990 coincided with Hokitika's 125th anniversary and
82-616: A Feral Fashion competition. Musical entertainment has been provided by the New Zealand Army Band , the Black Seeds , Salmonella Dub , Elemeno P , and local musicians such as the West Coast Kokatahi Band , Westland District Brass, and Hokitika Districts Country Music Club. A fireworks display ends the festival. The 1999 New Zealand feature film Magik and Rose , directed by Vanessa Alexander ,
123-477: A growing ecotourism industry has grown up and the town is starting to show signs of recovery. It has become a major tourist stop on the West Coast's main highway route, with carving of greenstone an important local industry. It is also gaining a reputation for its annual wild food festival which has been running since 1990. Seaview Asylum was once the town's biggest employer. Another important industry
164-437: A population density of 276 people per km . Before the 2023 census, the town had a smaller boundary, covering 3.91 km (1.51 sq mi). Using that boundary, Hokitika had a population of 2,892 at the 2018 New Zealand census , a decrease of 75 people (−2.5%) since the 2013 census , and a decrease of 186 people (−6.0%) since the 2006 census . There were 1,305 households, comprising 1,374 males and 1,521 females, giving
205-449: A sex ratio of 0.9 males per female. The median age was 47.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 459 people (15.9%) aged under 15 years, 474 (16.4%) aged 15 to 29, 1,278 (44.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 687 (23.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 86.4% European/ Pākehā , 20.1% Māori , 1.7% Pasifika , 4.9% Asian , and 1.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
246-638: Is dairying, with Westland Milk Products having its headquarters and main processing plant in the town. Westland Milk Products was established as a dairy co-operative in 1937, and was sold to the Yili Group in 2019. It is the country's third-equal largest dairy processor as of 2018. Hokitika has a 3D digital cinema, the Regent Theatre, due to volunteer hours and grants from the Lions foundation, Lottery's commission, Development West Coast through
287-592: Is one of the wettest places in New Zealand, with over 2,800 mm (110 in) of rainfall per year. Nearby Hokitika Gorge is a popular short tourist walk, with vibrant blue water and a "swing" (metal rope suspension) bridge. The Hokitika urban area, as defined by Statistics New Zealand, covers 11.78 km (4.55 sq mi) and is coterminous with the Hokitika statistical area. The urban area has an estimated population of 3,250 as of June 2024, with
328-481: Is set before and during the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival. It was partly shot at the 10th festival in 1999 (guest presenter Gary McCormick makes a cameo). The film's world premiere was at Hokitika's Regent Theatre at the 2000 festival. Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island , 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Greymouth , and close to
369-472: The Hokitika Branch was established to the town from Greymouth in 1893, and an extension to Ross was open from 1909 to 1980. Passengers to Hokitika were initially served by mixed trains that carried both goods and passengers. In 1936, these services were augmented by a Leyland diesel railbus service that ran from Hokitika to Greymouth, Christchurch , and briefly Reefton . In the early 1940s,
410-524: The Vulcan railcars were introduced and they provided a twice-daily service between Ross and Christchurch via Hokitika. The mixed trains continued to operate until 1967, and all passenger services to Hokitika ceased when the Vulcan railcars stopped running past Greymouth in 1972. Since then, the line to Hokitika has been freight only with traffic primarily coming from Westland Milk Products. In 1865, after
451-480: The Major District Initiative and pub charity. The Art Deco theatre is a heritage building and narrowly avoided being demolished, thanks to a last-minute coup in the management committee. Community performances are also held there. Hokitika has a drama group which produce plays. It is also on the circuit for Arts on Tour and well known artists from many countries as well as New Zealand perform at
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#1732783224452492-583: The Old Lodge Theatre. Every January, Hokitika beach hosts the Driftwood and Sand Festival. The festival involves members of the public and a sponsored artist constructing sculptures out of beach debris. Driftwood and Sand originated in beach festival run by Hokitika artist Donald Buglass in November 2002, and it has been run as an annual festival since 2003. The Hokitika Museum is housed in
533-550: The South Island), only 2 per cent from Auckland, and 9 per cent from overseas. At its height the festival attracted 25,000 under-age revellers, who smashed windows, lit bonfires on the beach, and left litter over central Hokitika; 20 were arrested, and there were calls for Wildfoods to be cancelled. Subsequently ticket sales were capped at 15,000, and a liquor ban was introduced downtown, with all alcohol being sold in plastic cups. Sixty-eight arrests were made in 2012 for breaching
574-503: The South Westland Community Activities Trust, but Westland District Council took over the operation of the fourth festival in 1993. Mike Keenan was appointed as festival coordinator, assisted by Lance Rae and a voluntary festival committee (numbering 17 by 2005). The use of festival currency stopped after 1994, and by 1995 the event, sponsored by Monteith's , had expanded to cover Cass Square. By
615-611: The Tūhuru wharenui (meeting house). In October 2020, the Government committed $ 161,131 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae, and create four jobs. State Highway 6 passes through the town. The first rail transport was the Hokitika & Kanieri Tramway laid with wooden rails was established in 1868, with cars drawn by horses. A road followed in 1873. A branch line railway known as
656-474: The West Coast region, an unusually high proportion for a national festival. The largest visitor age group was 21–29 year olds. Each visitor stayed an average of 2.5 days and spent on average $ 540. Around 60 community groups ran stalls or provide services to the festival for fund-raising purposes, raising over $ 110,000; the kitchen of the Karamea Community Hall, for example, was refurbished with
697-675: The abolition of provinces in 1876. In the early 20th century Hokitika had two hospitals, the Westland Hospital and the Seaview Asylum . In October 1941, three Hokitika police officers (and a policeman stationed in the neighbouring locality of Kaniere ), along with a field instructor for the Canterbury education board, were killed when a local farmer, Stanley Graham , went on a shooting rampage and killed seven people, including two armed Home guard personnel. In
738-590: The area for many years. Its name was changed in 1963 to Westland High School , which caters for years 7 to 13 and has a roll of 384. Hokitika School is a contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of 212. St Mary's School is a full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of 130. It is a state integrated Catholic school and is connected with St Mary's Catholic Church . All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of August 2024. Hokitika has one sister city . The events of The Luminaries , by Eleanor Catton , take place within Hokitika. The book won
779-400: The discovery of gold in the area, the town became the official port of entry of the West Coast. A boom period ensued when Hokitika was second only to Auckland, with reports of over 40 ships in the harbour at one time, with more waiting offshore. It was a dangerous port, with 108 strandings and 32 ships lost from 1865 to 1867. The lack of nearby coal meant that the port declined rapidly along with
820-564: The economic benefit it provided to local businesses and the community. After being organised by the Westland District Council for 29 years, Wildfoods was outsourced in 2019 to publicly-owned and Council-controlled organisation Destination Westland , who after some contention over whether the festival was a good financial risk have continued to run it. Mike Keenan ran the Wildfoods Festival for 21 years but
861-522: The end of the summer; before the recent explosion of Airbnb numbers in Hokitika, there was limited hotel/motel accommodation in Hokitika (approximately 600 people in 2003), and many residents rented out private rooms to host the influx of tourists. Ten years after the last survey, over a quarter of the festival attendees now came from the North Island, 11 per cent were from Auckland, and 5 per cent from overseas. Ninety per cent (9,700) were from outside
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#1732783224452902-499: The ensuing manhunt, the biggest in New Zealand history, overseen by the Commissioner of Police, Denis Cummings , more than 100 New Zealand Police and several hundred New Zealand Army & Home Guard searched the area for the gunman for 12 days, with orders to shoot him on sight if found still armed. On 20 October, after being spotted by two police constables and a local civilian carrying his rifle and ammunition belts, Graham
943-558: The festival have included chicken feet, jellied fish eye shots, lamb tails, crocodile and kangaroo bites, baby octopus , fish heads, pig pizzle , sheep brain pâté, sweetbreads , wild pork , whitebait fritters, pāua , pipi , wasp larvae ice cream, deer and bull semen, gorse-flower wine, earthworms , possum , pig's trotters , mussels , venison , scallops , hāngī , crispy tarantulas , bovine colostrum milkshakes, pork-blood casserole, cow udders, seagull eggs, live grasshoppers , and whisky sausages. The prizewinning recipe at
984-633: The festival tent. By that year visitor numbers had increased to 3,800, so in 1993 Wildfoods moved to its current venue of Cass Square, which has a capacity of 10,000. In 1994 for the first time the festival was opened by the West Coast Member of Parliament, Damien O'Connor , rather than the Mayor of Westland . One councillor decried the involvement of a "foreigner" as "propaganda by the Labour Party". The 1991 and 1992 festivals had been run by
1025-466: The first Wildfoods Festival was venison goulash , prepared by Pierre Esquilat of Hokitika's Cafe de Paris. There are cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs such as Ben Bayly and MasterChef NZ 2015 winner Tim Read. Maggie Beer was the Festival celebrity chef in 1995, and Helen Jackson (who comes from Hokitika) in 1999. Dressing up in novelty costumes is common at Wildfoods, and the festival runs
1066-533: The glaciers and remote landing strips beyond Haast and north up to Westport. Its first scheduled flight was in December 1934. Directors were Hokitika residents: Bert Mercer , Paul Renton and Harry Newman. After the second world war , Air Travel was nationalised and became part of NAC . A school was described as "recently opened" in Hokitika in 1875, and had nearly 350 students. The Hokitika District High School provided both primary and secondary education for
1107-405: The gold, though Hokitika remained an official entry port until the 1950s. Air New Zealand provides two flights a day to Christchurch. The Hokitika Airport is adjacent to the town, immediately to the north-east in the suburb of Seaview. Hokitika's Southside airfield was the base of Air Travel , New Zealand's first airline. Air Travel carried passengers, mail and freight south from Hokitika to
1148-475: The liquor ban (although none were at the festival site), but in recent years arrests for disorderly behaviour were lower: fifteen in 2016, eight in 2017. In 2005 the Wildfoods Festival received a New Zealand Tourism Award in the Innovation category. A 2012 study by BERL estimated the benefit of Wildfoods to the West Coast region as $ 6.5 million a year. The festival boosted accommodation nights in Hokitika at
1189-604: The mouth of the Hokitika River . It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District . The town's estimated population is 3,250 as of June 2024. On a clear day Aoraki / Mount Cook can clearly be seen from Hokitika's main street. The name Hokitika translates from Māori as "to return directly" (from hoki , 'to return', and tika , 'direct'). According to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage ,
1230-535: The name comes from when a band of Ngāi Tahu warriors in search of greenstone were about to attack Ngāti Wairangi pā . The chief of the invaders drowned while trying to cross the Hokitika River, and the leaderless taua (army) then returned directly to their own home. The land where Hokitika stands was purchased in 1860 from Māori when Poutini Ngāi Tahu chiefs signed the Arahura Deed . This
1271-451: The next year the festival had reached its peak number of 90 different stalls. Westpower , the other major sponsor since 1990, was taken over by Trustpower in 1999. By 2003, after ten years of steady growth, Wildfoods Festival attendance peaked at 22,500 (Hokitika at the time had a population of just 3,500). That year over 100 of whitebait and 19,000 litres of beer were sold. Over half the visitors came from Canterbury (and 81 per cent from
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1312-427: The proceeds of their stall. The festival was estimated to create 47 full-time-equivalent jobs. In 2016, after five years of losses, the festival again made a profit. The festival had cut expenses by $ 120,000, reintroduced a pre-party at Hokitika Beach, and revived the after-party that had been cancelled in the preceding two years. The Westland District Council had continued to run the festival, despite losses, because of
1353-505: The town's Carnegie library building. The Hokitika Sock Machine Museum in Revell Street has on display a collection of antique sock-knitting machines. Visitors are invited to knit their own socks. Hokitika also has a modern library, thriving community groups, and many excellent artists. Arahura Marae is located near Hokitika. It is a marae (tribal meeting ground) of Ngāi Tahu and its Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae branch, and includes
1394-399: Was $ 27,300, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 318 people (13.1%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,146 (47.1%) people were employed full-time, 408 (16.8%) were part-time, and 57 (2.3%) were unemployed. The major industries of greenstone ( pounamu ), gold , coal , and forestry have all dwindled over the last century, but
1435-467: Was 11.6, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 47.7% had no religion, 41.3% were Christian , 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs , 0.8% were Hindu , 0.4% were Muslim , 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 330 (13.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 654 (26.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income
1476-400: Was a prominent Freemason . By late 1866, it was one of New Zealand's most populous centres. On 16 September 1867, there were 41 vessels alongside the wharf at Hokitika, in some places three and four deep. In 1867, the port of Hokitika ranked first in New Zealand in both the number of vessels entered inwards and in the total value of exports; principally gold. On 8 March 1868 a mock funeral
1517-408: Was fatally wounded by a police constable and died the next day. The population has declined greatly since that time but the population of the Westland District is now on the rise thanks to "lifestyle inhabitants". Almost 30% of the district's rate-payers live outside of Hokitika. Hokitika has an oceanic climate , with mild summers, cool winters, and rainfall evenly distributed across the year. It
1558-621: Was held in protest about the conviction and hanging of three Irish Fenians in Manchester – the Manchester Martyrs . The funeral was led by Roman Catholic Father William Larkin and a Celtic Cross was erected in the Hokitika Cemetery . Larkin was later arrested, charged, and convicted of riot and seditious libel. In 1873 Hokitika became the capital of the short-lived Westland Province which lasted from 1873 until
1599-581: Was made redundant in 2014 when the Council disestablished its events department. Subsequent managers were Ashley Cassin (2016), Sarah Brown (2018), and Amber Popaite of Destination Westland (2019). In 2022 the Festival was postponed until the following year because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand . The Wildfoods Festival's distinctive identity comes from the range of unusual foods available. Its most notorious offerings include: Other foods offered at
1640-414: Was run by Heritage Hokitika. It took place in a newly-developed heritage area on Gibson Quay in downtown Hokitika. The first Wildfoods had 30 stalls, and attracted 1800 people. Alison Holst was the celebrity judge. Wildfoods has traditionally been run on the second Saturday in March, the driest time on the West Coast. The weather has generally been fine, but in the third festival in 1992 a squall blew down
1681-594: Was the sale of the whole of the West Coast region, apart from small areas reserved for Māori. It was almost 3 million hectares and sold to the Crown for £300. Founded on gold mining in 1864, it was a centre of the West Coast gold rush and grew very quickly. Members of the Jewish community ran stores and businesses and built a synagogue in Tancred St. One of them, John Lazar , was appointed Town Clerk in 1866 and