Bluff Promotions Inc - Putting Bluff on the Map

July 2025

Over the years, Bluff Promotions has been involved in many different projects in Bluff.
These projects have brought many visitors to the port town and have raised Bluff’s profile in the region. The following is a brief history of our events and projects — none of which would have been possible without our dedicated volunteers.

Bluff Promotions became an Incorporated Society in August 1992, growing out of the original Businessmen’s Association. Since that time, the group has worked to promote Bluff as a great place to live, work, and visit.

Like many towns, Bluff has a hardworking volunteer base who contribute individually and collectively to support the community and help keep Bluff on the map. Bluff Promotions employs a promotion officer, who is accountable to the Bluff Community Board, and whose role is to promote local businesses, events, and projects, take ideas from the public, and build up events to advertise Bluff as a destination.

Bluff Promotions has been involved in numerous events and projects over the years. The group donated funds to assist with the construction of the viewing platform at the top of Bluff Hill and has initiated and funded projects such as many of the picnic tables throughout the town—particularly along the beachfront—as well as murals on the Nichols Engineering building and next to the Bluff Town Hall, and the current Welcome to Bluff sign.

We have funded and produced brochures and street maps, and developed and redeveloped the website www.bluff.co.nz. The group also produces a monthly events calendar for the town.

We’ve been involved in a multitude of events, including playing a major role in the initial Bluff Oyster Festival in the mid-1990s.

We also partnered in the Stabicraft Fishing Tournaments for more than 10 years, along with the associated Gala Day, which featured the spectacular Birdman Competition. The group was heavily involved in the early years of the Burt Munro Challenge Hill Climb held on Bluff Hill, managing logistics while the Southland Motorcycle Club focused on the competition itself.

We took over the Up & Over Bluff Hill Grunt when the original organisers stepped down and also assumed responsibility for the annual Summer Sounds concerts when Venture Southland (as it was then known) chose not to continue running the event.

Bluff Promotions has organised the annual Santa Parade since 2019 and, more recently, introduced a Christmas Decorated Window Competition.
In 2024, we launched two new events — the Community-Wide Garage Sale and the Matariki Fire & Light Market — both held for the first time that year.

Over the years, we have also been called upon to assist with many other events, including open days on Navy vessels, the visit of the replica Endeavour barque, Spirit of Adventure visits, and Team New Zealand’s regatta with the Bluff Yacht Club.

We organised the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day, including a quiz afternoon at the Bluff RSA, and have supported the Bluff Oyster Fringe Festival, Hot Dog Eating Competition, Cheese Roll Competition, Try Whānau Triathlon, and many more.

Bluff Promotions was the key group behind the 2000 Bluff Millennium Celebrations, the highlight of which was a pre-dawn fireworks display from a barge in the harbour — an event that brought a massive crowd to Bluff at 4 a.m. on New Year’s Day, 2000. A similar evening display a few years later achieved a comparable result.

We have also supported many other groups with their events, including steam train excursions to Bluff, Skate Jam, and the Mahi Toi Arts Exhibition. Without our volunteers, none of this would have happened — and Bluff would be worse off for it.

Written by Alison Patrick