Pokie machine closure threatens Russell Birdman event

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

Russell Birdman founder Pania Sigley, pictured, is putting out a call for volunteers so the festival doesn't fall flat on its face.

For most small towns, a lack of gaming machines or pokie machines can be seen as a positive move.

But in the Bay of Islands town of Russell, a shortage of pokie machines is threatening the long-running two-day winter event, Russell Birdman.

Last year's Russell Birdman attracted plenty of great entries but keeping the event going will be a balancing act.

Event founder Pania Sigley said the festival's main funder, Pelorus Trust, would no longer fund the event because the closure of the Duke Tavern meant it no longer had gaming machines in the area.

The trust aimed to give grants to the area where the funds were raised.

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The Duke Tavern - not to be confused with the separately owned Duke of Marlborough Hotel - closed about a month ago.

That left a scant number of volunteers scrambling to find funding for this year's Russell Birdman, Sigley said.

The annual event began in 2007, at a time when Russell used to shut down for winter.

'All the restaurants closed down for two to three months,' Sigley said. 'The town was really dead.

'At that time, we had young children who had nothing to do and we just wanted to create something that our kids would enjoy.'

Now, the event attracts about 3000 to 5000 people. As well as the showpiece jump off Russell Wharf in fancy dress, events include drag races, dinghy racing, and a chance to build and race a plastic boat.

But Sigley admitted the demands for compliance and report writing had increased as the event grew.

Running the birdman each year cost about $19,000 for road closure applications, radio advertising and marketing - and that was using volunteer labour. Using an event company cost about $30,000, she said.

'We've probably created a monster.'

Alongside the increased cost, volunteer numbers had dwindled to just two, as people moved away or got too busy, Sigley said.

'Time has evolved and the time of finding volunteers has change,' she said.

Sigley was putting out a last-minute call for volunteers and supporters to come forward, to make sure this year's event can go ahead on 12 and 13 July.

She was holding a town meeting at The Duke of Marlborough Hotel on Wednesday from 6.30pm and encouraged anyone interested to come along.

'What I hope is that we will get some enthusiastic volunteers to assist on the day and the pre-planning, particularly volunteers who can find some money.

'I have a full-time job that's quite involved. A group of helpers would be good instead of me trying to do it myself.'