TypeAgencyDate Range1918-1978DescriptionFounded in 1918, the Wellington Competitions Society was one of the earliest competition societies and up until the 1960s one of the more significant. It conformed to the overall pattern of such societies in New Zealand but exhibited several unique features.
The Society's first festival, planned for November 1918, was delayed until February 1919 because of the influenza epidemic. From 1921 its festivals were held in the August-September school holidays and up until 1963 lasted a full fortnight. Prior to 1965 most festivals included a final evening demonstration concert and two matinee concerts.
Full festivals were held every year until 1971, with the exceptions of 1942, 1943 and (one other). By 1961 the society was, like other societies, experiencing difficulties but, despite declining entries and financial loss, decided to carry on. In 1963, in an effort to retrieve its position, the society included new classes and sections at its festival. One of the new sections was modelling, which was open to professional as well as to amateur models. More significantly, it raised the prize for its aria contest from £25 to £100 and the Dominion sponsored a Maori choir championship and an action song class for Maori groups. Kiri Te Kanawa performed in the aria contest and in other vocal classes in 1964 and 1965, as did Patricia Payne in 1965. In 1972 and 1973 the society held, in reduced form, the last of its more traditional festivals. The Society introduced innovations such as the Maori section.
In 1978, in its 60th year, the decision was taken to wind up the Wellington Competitions Society. Up until the late 1950s, the society enjoyed enormous support from the people of Wellington and from numerous firms and organisations in the city. Moreover, among the people serving as office holders were some of the city's most prominent citizens. The original vice-presidents included Sir Robert Stout, chief justice and a former premier, The Hon T M Wilford, a member of parliament and a former mayor, and Harold Beauchamp, father of Katherine Mansfield. The standing of the society was also reflected in the status of its patrons and vice-patrons. Incumbent governors-general were patrons, other than in the years between 1927 and 1935, when the city's mayor fulfilled this role.
In the wider context it also sought to promote New Zealand literature in its speech section and the work of New Zealand composers in the vocal and instrument music sections. The range of classes at the society's festivals and the high calibre of judges and adjudicators gave the festivals a cultural kudos that attracted participants from up and down the country. Many competitors at its festivals later achieved considerable prominence in their chosen field. Mention has been made of Kiri Te Kanawa and Patricia Payne, and among the others who became acclaimed singers were Inia Te Wiata and Noel Mangin. Alexander Grant, a competitor in ballet classes in the 1940s, went on to be a leading dancer at Sadlers Wells in London, and Allan Highet, a future minister of internal affairs and the arts, took part in oratory classes.
