Te Anau Events

2012 Northern Southland Veterinary Services
Te Anau Harness Street Races

History

Folowing the successful revival of this iconic event last year, the 14th of January 2012 will again see Mokonui Street ring to the sound of hoofbeats.

Born of a suggestion by former hotel manager Anna Bastiaans of a horse race in his home town of Roden in the Netherlands was a race, hard to describe, of two horses running side by side on a sand track, along a wide street, where after a round robin competition the eventual winner would take the spoils of the winners rug and the major share of the prize money on offer.

The attraction for the Spectators was the opportunity to bet on the outcome using Fiordland Pounds where a fair amount of luck and a little knowledge might see a punter double his or her money at each race, where after the final race the opportunity existed to bid on an array of prizes at the Dutch Auction.

Back then Fiordland Promotions chief executive, Jan Wilson was tasked with convincing Southland Harness Racing Club’s then President Ron Barron that although this type of racing was different, it could be fun and worthwhile, and he in turn was tasked with convincing the horse owners and trainers. Ron’s commitment and excitement with this concept saw him again involved in 2011 resurection.

Community involvement was critical to the early success of the races with council agreeing to the closure of Mokonui Street and manpower provided by the local Lions and Rotary Clubs, Corporate support was readily forthcoming with local transport companies and Works Infrastructure providing and laying, over 100 cubic metres of sand for the race track and National company Dominion Breweries purchasing brand sponsorship for the first three years and Air Fiordland following for the next eight years.

And so it was that in 1991 a small working committee was set up from the board of Fiordland Promotion Association and in 1992 the first Te Anau Harness Street Races took place raising $9,000 for the local community, ten years later in 2002 the figure had more than doubled to $19,000

Following the 2003 event the races went into recess with concerns surround risk management and liabilities, along with an increasing workload of a committee that had seen little change over 11 years.

Again in 2011 all the ingredients of community involvement from council, transport and contracting firms to volunteer time and a generous business and corporate sector were combined to see the thunder of hooves return to Mokonui Street for what was a spectacularly successful revival and a fantastic day out for locals and visitors alike.
Under the auspicies of the recently formed Te Anau Community Events Trust the Street Racing Committee are pleased to be able to bring you the 14th running of this great family event on the 14th of January 2012.