Polyfest recordings

Polyfest is an annual celebration of Māori and Pacific culture among competing schools in the Auckland region. It is New Zealand’s longest continually running Pacific arts festival.

The festival began in 1976 at Hillary College (now known as Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate) in Otara, by a group of students and teachers eager to demonstrate the pride of cultural identity. It was well supported by students, parents, school staff and the wider community. Despite only four schools participating, including Hillary College, Aorere College, Mangere College, and Seddon College (now Western Springs College), the festival was popular, with a sizeable audience and an introduction by the mayor of Manukau City, Lloyd Elsmore.

In 1996 the festival moved to a larger venue, The Manukau Sports Bowl, to better manage the growth and popularity of the event, and hosting responsibilities shifted between schools. Polyfest has grown to include approximately 69 schools and between 8,000-10,000 individual participants. It has become a significant site for cultural transmission for Māori and Pacific youth in Auckland. Students compete and perform items on the Māori, Cook Islands, Niuean, Samoan and Tongan stages, while The Diversity Stage accommodates students performing additional Pacific cultures, along with Asian and African cultures.

Polyfest has undergone several name changes over the years. Previously known as the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Cultural Festival, and later known as Polyfest and ASB Polyfest. The naming sponsor, ASB, one of New Zealand’s major banks, offers financial support along with universities and polytechnic colleges, who sponsor individual stages. Over the years the festival has been covered by TVNZ through its news and specialist shows like Tagata Pasifika and Marae. Full coverage was also taken on by Front of the Box Productions in the 2000s, and later went back to TVNZ’s Māori and Pacific Programme section, followed by Tikilounge Productions. Coverage of the Māori stage was picked up by Māori Television.