Our journey so far
1862 - First Agricultural Show in Christchurch on 22 October (Armagh Street, north of Latimer Square).
1863 - Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association formally established on 23 January. The site of the first Showgrounds was bought in Sydenham in 1894 (now known as Sydenham Park). First Show held on the new grounds on 22 October.
1872 - Record attendance of 8,000 people attending The Show.
1878 - The Show made a profit of £500 for the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association.
1887 - The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association bought a new, larger site at Addington (became known as Addington Showgrounds).
1891 - Ostriches and Llamas were exhibited at The Show for the first time.
1918 - The Friday of Show Week became People’s Day at The Show.
1920 - Show admission doubles in price, from 1s in 1919 to 2s in 1920 (s = shilling).
1923 - The Showgrounds were lit with electric light, proving a great benefit to exhibitors and enabling The Show to open on an evening.
1925 - Canterbury hosted its first New Zealand Royal Show. The first ever Royal was held in Palmerston North the previous year.
1938 - The biggest attendance at The Show until that time with over 60,000 people passing through the gates on the two days of The Show.
1942 - Military occupation of the Showgrounds during WWII forces the cancellation of The Show (1942-43-44). This was the first break in the history of The Association since it was founded in 1863.
1950 - Royal Centennial Show (Centennial year of the province).
1950’s - The official provincial holiday for the anniversary day was shifted from 16 December (the date of the arrival of the First Four Ships), to the Friday of Show Week.
1962 - The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association celebrated its Centennial (100th) Canterbury A&P Show.
1976 - The headline in The Press on 13 November summed up the position in a few words “Show Coffers Hit by Weather – Worst in History”. In previous years, bad weather at some period of The Show was not unusual, but it is the first time in memory that The Show was hit so harshly, with a dramatic drop in temperature and snow to the city. The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association accounts showed a $17,563 deficit at the end of the year.
1996 - The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association acquired a 250 acre block [MOU1] of land at Wigram from the Christchurch City Council (became known as Canterbury Agricultural Park). The Christchurch City Council created an umbrella brand (now known as New Zealand Cup and Show Week) to coordinate events in Christchurch over Show Week.
1997 - The first Canterbury A&P Show was held at Canterbury Agricultural Park. Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association opened the Saleyards Complex at Canterbury Agricultural Park (houses livestock during The Show).
1998 - HRH Prince Andrew visited The Canterbury A&P Show.
2003 - Feature competitions were introduced in conjunction with The Canterbury A&P Show.
2007 - The Canterbury A&P Show received international media coverage with the escape of a ‘rampaging bull’ during the opening day.
2008 - Record visitor attendance in The Show’s history - 120,000 people visited over the three days. Visit from HRH Princess Anne. Celebrated 50 years of shearing at The Canterbury A&P Show.
2009 - Record livestock and feature competition entries at The Canterbury A&P Show - 7584.
2010 - The original Treasurer’s Hut from Addington Showgrounds was restored and used as an information office at The 2010 Canterbury A&P Show. The Show attained a Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people leapfrogging at a single venue. Record opening day attendance of 18,000.
2011 - The Canterbury A&P Show hosted its first wedding, held on Show Day (11/11/2011).
2012 - The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) Canterbury A&P Show.