It all starts with a story

Early in Maurice Gee’s 1992 novel Going West he describes travelling by steam train from Loomis (Henderson) to the central City. In Murray Gray’s Parnell bookshop Under Silkwood, a customer remarked on this evocative writing, and a random remark fuelled a passion to see the establishment of a literary festival complete with a train journey in West Auckland.

A friend in advertising, Bob Harvey, thought it was a great idea. He was planning to run for the Mayoralty in Waitakere City, and if he got in he’d make it happen. True to his word and with the support of the City’s Arts Coordinator Naomi McCleary, and the City’s first Library Manager Adrian Birkbeck, in 1996 the Going West Festival began. It was Auckland’s first literary festival.

In the years since that first festival, Going West grew from strength to strength. A who’s who of New Zealand writers graced the stage and shared their work. And the festival always stayed true to its mission to support, celebrate and enable the sharing of writing, performance and cultural commentary from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific.

It evolved into a vibrant annual festival held in Titirangi, hosting a diverse range of literary figures and events and creating a dynamic platform for storytelling, intellectual discourse and cultural exchange.

The world shifts

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, live events were no longer possible. So the Going West festival transformed into a series of podcasts sharing the best of the festival’s wonderful audio archive.

As the subsequent years shifted the landscape of live events and arts funding, Going West has remained resilient and adaptive, producing poetry films, more archival audio and a Voices of Aotearoa, a book commemorating our first 25 years. We’ve continued to preserve our legacy by maintaining our extensive audio archive in partnership with Auckland Libraries. And, more recently, we’ve embarked on an ambitious project to establish a writers residency at the former home of renowned New Zealand writer, Maurice Shadbolt. The Shadbolt House project is an exciting one for the Going West Trust — we see it as a cornerstone of our future.

The new horizon

We know the festival is loved and missed. It may return, in a different form. Or something new may rise to fill the special space it held for outstanding writers and appreciative readers.

Whatever shape it takes — we want you to be part of it. Sign up to our mailing list to stay informed.

The Going West Archives

Since 2003, the Going West Festival Trust has partnered with Auckland Libraries to record, preserve and promote the archives of the Going West Books & Writers Festival. The archives contain audio recordings of every session since the inaugural 1996 festival. This collection of ephemera and audio can be browsed at https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/search/searchterm/going%20west Full recordings are available through Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections and can be accessed by arrangement through our Heritage and Research sites in Henderson, Takapuna, Manukau and Central City.

Going West acknowledges the support of the Auckland Libraries and The Norcross Falls Heritage Trust.