More Info →Floral Festival Parade - Manawatū Savage Club float

Description

The Floral Festival was a weeklong series of events organised by the Palmerston North Public Relations Organisation between the 17th and 22nd of February 1958. The events were well attended, and many businesses got into the spirit of the occasion with floral themed window displays, quizzes, fashion shows and film festival showings. The event was topped off by the parade, attended by hundreds of people along the route.

This image depicts a mock haka party on a float created by the Manawatū Savage Club. Mockery of kapa haka was once considered 'just a bit of fun' and was often conducted during public events. The practice slowly died out across Aotearoa in the face of protest and education about manifestations of institutional racism, particularly after the 1979 'Haka Party Incident' at Auckland University. The Manawatū Savage Club was established in 1908, and changed its name to OnStage Manawatū in 2020.

After the festival, The Manawatū Standard reported (25 February 1958) "Many people have congratulated Mr Beckett [Public Relations Officer] and his assistant Miss B. Norman, on the success of the Floral Festival which brought to the city visitors from over a wide area. With the influx of these visitors trade in the local retail stores automatically quickened in tempo, and it would appear that the festival did much for Palmerston North."

Identification

Object type

Image

Relation

2006-12

Date

February 22, 1958

Digitisation ID

2023S_2006-12_040962

Format

Slide