All in the family

 

New Zealand welcomes The Beatles

 

Safe and sound in Kiwi land

 

Interviews and autographs -- a typical Beatles day

 

June 21, 1964 -  Wellington, New Zealand 

The Kiwis!

 

Bubbalicious

I don't like to be one to complain about these things -- but come on -- a kiwi named Bubbalicious gets to meet Paul McCartney and I am still here waiting!   The kiwi tried to get away from him too. 

Keep it in the family

Aunt Mimi with family members she met up with in New Zealand in 1964

George in New Zealand

In the land of the Kiwi

Cool book promoting

We are family

Some great photos taken in New Zealand on June 23, 1964 when John and his Aunt Mimi visited with members of their family (ones that John didn't know, but he sure smiled nicely for photos with them).  

Christchurch concert thoughts

Unfortunately I could not find any photographs of the Beatles performing at Christchurch, New Zealand.   I would suspect that the concert venue was one that had a strict "no camera" policy, as many in England did in 1964, not even allowing press photos to be taken during the performance.  However, I did not want the fans memories of those performances to not be included.

Make sure to see older posts about Christchurch as well
 http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2012/04/cunning-guile-and-pure-cheek.html

http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2012/06/fab-and-kiwis.html

I was 16 and my father took me to the concert as he thought the Beatles had the most superb harmony and he couldn't wait to hear them live. No such luck - he couldn't hear a thing because of all the screaming. - Bridget, Christchurch 

I went to the early show of the Beatles in Christchurch with a friend from work and his brother, all dressed in our Beatle Jackets, Beatle boots and new brushed forward hairstyles.

I remember the Police all filing in and lining the stage and walls just as the precious act (Sounds Incorporated?) were getting to the end of their time on stage.

The curtain went down, the screaming reached an entirely new level, and then, up it goes and they were there.  Even louder screaming, girls rushing the stage, even from upstairs, racing to the front .

We were seated in the middle of the front row upstairs, and from our position we could actually hear them above the noise, I am guessing we would have been among very few who could.

Later that night I met my new girlfriend who had been to the later show, and I remember she couldn't stop crying, with joy at actually seeing them live.

Next day we all joined the throng outside the Clarendon Hotel screaming for them to come out and were rewarded with a quick visit by them on to the balcony.

Then out to the Airport to see them go, the plane having to do a hurried departure as the security fence, being severely rocked by the crowd, threatened to come down and the plane being mobbed.

As I said at the beginning a wonderful time of life, 18 years old, and the whole world ahead.- Murray Butcher 

My parents bought tickets for myself & twin sister Marion, which was very expensive for them.
I was disappointed because I could not hear over the screaming and felt it was a waste of money.
Looking back I still feel so fortunate to have been able to go!

When I was 13 I decided I would go to UK because of the Beatles. It took me 5 years to save up to go by ship in 1970. I stayed for 3 years, met my future husband who followed me to New Zealand.- Regards, Helen D

Will you drive my car?

I think this is a sad story because I personally think that the Beatles were making jokes about the Christchurch girls.   I can almost hear them saying the words.    Little did they know that their driver had a teenager Beatle-fan daughter and he was a bit offended by what the Beatles were saying.

This story was written by Bruce Renwick and is in his book The Beatles in New Zealand.

Ramsay Gibson of Darfield had only had his new 1964 Chevrolet for a couple of months when he was contracted by Blackwell Motors in Christchurch.   They were the local agents for General Motors who had been contracted to transport the Beatles while in NZ.

Blackwell’s didn’t have a new car in stock so they asked Ramsay if he would drive the Beatles from the airport in his car.

Being keen to meet the Beatles Ramsay said yes and reported to the airport at the requested time.  He was positioned in the cavalcade consisting of two traffic officers on bikes, one police car and then Ramsay.

They waited on the tarmac for over an hour until the flight from Dunedine arrived.           Ramsay remembers the terrifying sight of 5,000 frantic fans trying to rip the fence down and he being between them and the plane was not a good place to be in the event of the fence collapsing.  The original exit point was to be the freight gate but the eager crowd prevented that being used to the back gate out onto Avonhead Road was decided on.

When the plane arrived the crowd went wild again.  One lad managed to scale the fence and head for the plane only to be taken in a flying tackle by a policeman and was unceremoniously returned back over the fence from where he had come.

The Beatles came over to the Chevrolet along with one of the support artists and got into the car.  The support artist slid into the driver’s seat and proclaimed that he would drive but a short sharp shove from Ramsay sent him across the seat to the passenger’s side.

Ramsay was told not to stop for anything, just to keep driving.  As they started off toward the rear exit the crowd realized what was happening and headed for the Russley Road corner.  All traffic was stopped by traffic officers on point duty at the corner while the cavalcade passed through.  They travelled 30 mph and three feet apart.

Conversations started with one saying, “We’ve heard that one in three Christchurch girls has V.D.”

Ramsay at this point put his daughter’s and her friend’s autograph books into the glove box where they stayed for the rest of the trip.

“Hey, that Judy looks alirght.”

“Yea, but she probably got V.D. though.”

And so the conversation continued.

The cavalcade went down Cambridge Terrace and into Oxford Terrace which was fenced off.  This didn’t stop one girl breaking through the cordon and grabbing hold of the door handle of the Beatles car only to be thrown onto the road as the car continued.  She picked herself up and chased after the car which incited the rest of the crowd.

The lads arrived at the hotel and went inside leaving Ramsay and his new car surrounded by screaming fans but with the help of the local police he was soon on his way home.  Listening to the radio on the way home Ramsay heard that the Beatles had had eggs and vegetables thrown at them when they were out on the balcony of the hotel, this amused Ramsay especially after the topic of conversation in his car.  He never saw the Beatles again after they entered the hotel.

When Ramsay got home his daughter came running out to meet him and to get her autograph book, but after explaining to her about the conversation in the car and asking her if she was aware of what V.D. was she assured her father that she did having been to a mother and daughter evening at school quite recently.

The daughter went into her bedroom and ripped down all her posters and burnt them.

Christchurch arrival

The Beatles arrived at Christchurch, New Zealand on June 27, 1964 to 5000 fans at the airport to greet their favorite singers. 

One strange story is that one female fan flung herself on the hood of the car the Beatles were in and bounced off the car and hit the road.  Because the car was moving very slowly, the girl did not get seriously hurt.  She was taken inside of the hotel and she ended up sharing a cup of coffee with the Beatles!

Beatles arriving in Christchurch, NZ

The Beatles then arrived at Clarendon Hotel, where the fans were up to their regular tricks of hiding in laundry baskets to try to see the Beatles.   The Beatles first came out on a balcony to wave to their fans.  While they were there, some boys in the crowd threw eggs and tomatoes because they were jealous of the attention their girlfriends were giving to the Beatles.   The eggs hit the hotel walls and lasted for about four minutes.   Some of them hit Ringo's trousers.  The Beatles rushed back inside where they cleaned up and relaxed a bit.

Later they appeared on a balcony that was 12 to 15 feet above the footpath and they were able to wave to their fans without getting hit by eggs.

Here is what one photographer (who took the photo of the Beatles leaving the plane) had to say about the Beatles

I was a 20 year old photographer working for the Christchurch Press when the Beatles arrived in Christchurch.  I was assigned to photograph the guys at the airport, when they appeared on the balcony of the Clarendon Hotel and at the show.  During that early part of the 1960s I had also photographed the royal tours by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip and the King and Queen of Thailand and to me the crowd reaction to the Beatles visit generated just as much crowd enthusiasm, if not more, than the other tours.

By the time that they arrived in Christchurch, their last venue, excitement was at fever pitch and screaming fans, mainly girls, nearly broke down the 2m high security fence at the airport.

Here is my photo of the Beatles leaving the plane.  I still have the original, a 16 x 20 inch framed photograph hanging in my office and a mint condition program like Wayne's, safely tucked away.

When they came out onto the balcony of the Clarendon the whole of Worcester Street from the Square to the river was full of fans.  I climbed out onto the same level fire escape to get a photo of the Beatles in the foreground with the crowd and Cathedral in the background.  

They were there for some time waving and clowning around until some nutter started to throw eggs.  The Beatles immediately went back in through the french doors but as I climbed back through a window into the same room I was hit on the back by an egg.  

Ringo and one of the hotel staff helped wipe it off with tea towels but my jacket was pretty much ruined.

 - Regards, Harold