The Royal Easter Show’s Living Legend Speaks Out

The Royal Easter Show’s Living Legend Speaks Out.

John Maybury’s sorry he missed the first 50 Royal Easter Shows at ASB Showgrounds. But he’s seen the rest!

John Maybury is not only ‘the voice’ of the Royal Easter Show but he’s been an integral team member for 50 years! We sat down with John for a candid chat about his time with the Royal Easter Show over the past 50 years. This is what he had to say.

“The Royal Easter Show is without doubt one of the sweetest jobs of my career. It has been my highlight every year, drawing thousands of Kiwis to the Show ”, says John.

“What I have loved about the Royal Easter Show the most over the years is the infinite variety, with the best of NZ manufacturers on display, international thrill acts on the Royal Arena, the great array of A&P activities like wood-chopping, shearing, and equestrian, Miss NZ and Miss Auckland contests and a brilliant Australian pavilion early in the piece. I’ve always been captivated too by the Carnival area!”, says John.

“Over my first 9-years and living at Paraparaumu, I’d pack my wife Helen and three daughters into the wagon, hurtle north and nine hours later unload at a pre-booked rental property and rip into work. Because the Show didn’t open on Good Friday or on Sundays back in those days we were able to discover the beauties of Auckland. This led finally to a permanent switch to Auckland.

“Apart from devising audience-participation games and giveaways for the Show theatre, and helping out on the beauty pageants (what a grind eh?), the work I loved the most was commentating on all the overseas acts including Trapeze artists, Sway Poles, High-wire acts and dare-devils motorcyclists.

“I can say with due modesty they all claimed I was as good as any others they’d worked with. A compere can’t make an act any better than it is but he can build up audience expectation and extract responses at highlight moments along the way. And of course his number one duty is to ensure nothing distracts the focus of the audience from the performance.

“Acts over the years that I will never forget – star American singer cry-man Johnnie Ray and thrill act from the UK cyclist Gene Mace in the Wall of Death. Sadly Gene crashed inside the tunnel on opening night and fractured his collarbone. A dramatic photo of Gene being assisted from the inferno made front page in Auckland’ s main paper. Gene was replaced by a back-up rider Greg Smith but vowed to recover and ride again before the Show was over. And so on the final night he declared he was ready but heading down a damp grassy slope on to the Arena, the bike slid from under him and down he went on to the bad shoulder again. What a let down! Even Johnnie Ray cried.

“Other stand-outs included the Fijian Firewalkers from the island of Beqa – a bunch of lovely souls walking on red-hot stones and assorted firewood and laughing all the way through it.

“The 70yr old American High-dive Dare-devil Henri Le Moth. Diving from a 30ft high platform into 16 inches of water. He’d obviously been in a few dives over his career. But he made a real splash with our audiences.

“The Bo Bo sisters – Chinese contortionists. Boy they were unbelievable. Took up to 15 minutes to untangle them at the end of a performance.

“The man with the Golden Trumpet, Eddie Calvert from the UK -- rich resinous sound and a sense of humour. I asked him where he kept his mouthpiece. He replied, ‘Back in the UK’.

“Wes Harrison Sound – effects man from USA – all trickery with one microphone. Kept the Logan Campbell audience on the edge of their seats every session; ears to a real novelty.

“Ridgeways Circus - a major attraction with acrobats and various animals including a star elephant. The big closing act saw the elephant negotiate three laps around the sawdust track. At the end of lap one attendant dressed in smart blue overalls lay down and the elephant stepped over him. Bravo. Lap two next. Another attendant lay down alongside the first. Over the big elephant goes and we’re coming to a climax.

“The third attendant lay down and I tell the audience here comes the hard part. Not only will the elephant step over the three men but will hover for a moment over them, and then go forward. Well at this absolutely critical stage the elephant showed his nervousness and let loose with everything. Talk about a tonne on the MI. The crowd erupted and I only had to say told you this was the hard part and they roared all over again; so much for blue overalls, they were now DUNGAREES!

“One of the finest illusionists in the world was Vince Carmen from Las Vegas. He was a real smooth operator and his two biggest illusions were exceptional.

“The disappearing Motorcar came first. Some advance preparation saw slippery wooden skid pads under the wheels of the car leading a direct path towards the back curtain which split apart for a fraction of a second, long enough for the car to skid through.

“The secret was diversion. Take the mind off the car. Hold a flimsy screen in front of it. Lay on a stage full of dry-ice clouds. And poof it’s gone.

“Vince Carmen’s closing act was a cracker. He wheeled out a magnificent cage displaying this beautiful woman who could have shared time with Tarzan in bygone days. She’d prance along the front bars in seductive style till Vince thought that was enough and with a flash of light and his own theatrical abra-cadabra, the gorgeous girl was gone to leave one Bengal TIGER in her place. Brilliant stuff. I’d have done it all in reverse. Start with the tiger and finish with the ravishing lady.

“For months after the Easter Show the smell of the tiger lingered in the backstage area where the tiger had been housed. The cleaning staff was highly peeved.

“Laughter days and sad days…the Show must go on.

“Crunchie the Clown ‘s daughter died tragically in Melbourne on the opening day of the Show. We offered to release him from all obligations to perform in the Logan Campbell Stage on full pay but he declined and in fact missed only one session on the morning of her funeral. Every day friends of Peter Newberry and his wife Pat would come backstage to console him but right on cue Crunchie emerged from his dressing room heavy of heart but intent on his task to entertain his audience. I’ve never seen anything braver or more inspirational.

“I’ve always regarded Street Theatre as a vital ingredient at an Easter Show. I’ve gathered a bundle of great friends at this venue. Hear! Hear!”, says John.

Pop into the Royal Easter Show Co-ordinator’s office at ASB Showgrounds during the show, 21 – 25 April 2011, and you’ll likely find our very own right royal character John planning the next 50 years!

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