THE ORGANISATION OF IT IS "AKIN TO RUNNING A SMALLTO MEDIUM-SIZED MUSIC FESTIVAL"

admin of organising a street party up to OUSA. “OUSA are great,” says Caitlin. “They do so much with the organising.” Sophie, an international student, says that the idea of a student union organising such a notorious street party would be “out of the question” back in the United States. “That would never, ever happen. When I heard about [Hyde] I was so surprised… it would get shut down so fast back home.”

OUSA took on the events admin because they recognize how much it means to students; “It’s an important part of the student experience,” says Jason. “There’s been a lot of historical parts of student experience that have disappeared, including student bars. We know the importance of Hyde Street.” Tom thinks that the party is “slowly being phased out… there’s less guest tickets per resident and increasing fees.” But Jason says OUSA will keep putting it on “as long as the residents want us to continue doing it.”

This year, 3800 students attended Hyde. Melissa, one of the original founders of the Hyde St Party, can’t understand how it has become what it is today. When they created it they were “just having fun” and, before the party, Hyde was just a quiet little street that no one really knew about. Now it’s a centrepiece of Dunedin student culture. The founding flatmates still remain friends and want to come back for a reunion one year to see their baby all grown up.

The evolution of the Hyde St Party speaks to the strength of Dunedin culture; its long-lasting effect on Dunedin shows the persistence of the students’ primal party instinct. “Everyone kind of realised it was for a good time,” says Melissa. “Dunedin still has the same vibe as it did back then, and I think it always will.” Although the party culture may have evolved with the introduction of Facebook pages, fancy RTDs, and OUSA involvement, one thing will always remain: we love a good street party (even if we wish it were free).

By James Downing