Our story

The Society owns and operates Fieldays® and Mystery Creek Events Centre. Read our story to discover how it all began over five decades ago.

Our story

The Society and Fieldays trace their beginnings to Waikato farmer and Nuffield Australia Farming Scholar John Kneebone. While travelling to Britain in 1966, he visited the Royal Agricultural Show. The horsepower and sophistication of the equipment there made New Zealand look primitive with its horse-drawn implements mounted to tractors. He wrote to Pat Cuming, then farming editor of the Waikato Times, suggesting a similar agricultural show be held in New Zealand to provide a machinery aspect to the Ruakura Farmers' Week.

"Would it not be possible with a little co-operation to have our famous Ruakura Farmers' Week and our Winter Show coincide so that New Zealand farmers could have their annual outing in Hamilton, as they do in London at the Smithfield Show?" he wrote. "A little imagination could make a really big affair of it."

A year after Kneebone wrote to the Waikato Times, representatives from Federated Farmers, the university, the Agricultural Research Centre, the A and P Show Association, the newspaper and the city's mayor discussed bringing town and country together in a farm festival.

The New Zealand National Fieldays Society was formed in 1968 to support the country’s agricultural sector through innovation, learning, and connection. The first Fieldays event followed in 1969 at Te Rapa Racecourse, just north of Hamilton’s centre. Called the Town and Country Fair, it set out to bring rural and urban people together to celebrate farming and its contribution to the economy. Organisers expected only a few thousand visitors. More than 10,000 arrived, with cars lining Te Rapa Straight, which was still farmland at the time.

The Society bought the property at 125 Mystery Creek Road in 1971, giving Fieldays a long-term home and space to grow. Today, Mystery Creek Events Centre is a large venue, that can welcome thousands of exhibitors and visitors to Fieldays each June. It brings farmers, growers, rural businesses, and students together to share ideas, explore new technology, and celebrate New Zealand’s food and fibre sector.

This heritage has been shaped by many people who have supported and volunteered with the organisation over the decades. An elected board now leads the Society and guides its future work, charitable efforts, and events.

Vision

Creating leading events for our world
Our vision includes growing new events, improving our site, investing in charity and growing our agricultural heritage

Mission

To advance agriculture for the benefit of New Zealand through collaborative leadership in innovation, education and globalisation
To bring town and country together

Strategic Imperatives

These imperatives guide and inform us as we work towards a cohesive and strategic direction. The New Zealand National Fieldays Society’s pillars of Innovation, Education and Globalisation are weaved throughout everything we do.

Invest and develop our people

To be a valued employee where people value working and volunteering their time.

Grow our business

Grow New Zealand.

Connect globally

Maintain an international reputation as the leader in events, learn from the best and lead the rest.

Connect with our customers, community, and stakeholders

To have high customer/stakeholder satisfaction and to make it easy to do business with us.

Develop our home site

To gain maximum asset utilisation of our multi use site while ensuring it remains relevant for our customers while being maintained and presented to golf course standard.