Russell Alexander: General Manager, Hobbiton Movie Set
Hobbits are happy folk. They enjoy their food, their beer, their friends, and they typically make their home amid fruitful, rolling green farmland where they can grow crops, and throw the occasional humdinger party.
This pretty much sounds like a description of life in the Waikato. Which is why Hobbits and this region have become inextricably entwined, and why Russell Alexander is general manager of Hobbiton Movie Set, located on his family’s idyllic farm at Hinuera, near Matamata.
A brief recap: In 1998, Russell’s father Ian was watching rugby on the telly at his farmhouse when a location scout for fabled Kiwi film-maker Sir Peter Jackson knocked at the door, and asked if he could have a look around the property. Says Russell: “Dad said that was fine, he just reminded the scout to shut the gates. Then Dad went back to watching the second half of the rugby (Waikato v Auckland).”
Much has happened since then. The scout got it bang on, and the Alexanders’ 500ha sheep farm became the movie set for the magical Hobbit homeland, The Shire, created for Sir Peter’s two J R R Tolkien blockbuster trilogies, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit.
The location has subsequently become a major international tourist destination, offering a permanent movie set of quaint Hobbit holes, the Green Dragon Inn, the Party Field, and more. It is tucked into the folds of the Hinuera hills, and is so beautifully and meticulously put together that it looks like the shy little Hobbits may be hiding out while the crowds flow through.
And the crowds certainly keep coming. In the year to March (2016), there have been 468,000 visitors, with numbers pretty much doubling each year since 2010. Hobbiton hit the one million visitor mark a couple of years ago; this summer it will probably reach two million, and there will be about 230 staff at peak.
Almost all visitors are from overseas, representing more than 100 countries. Many are serious Tolkien fans, and Russell says feedback is phenomenal. Guided tours run like clockwork, and there has been a huge investment in infrastructure on the property.
While the Hinuera habitat of Russell’s childhood now welcomes the world to its front gate, the old practices remain. His brother Craig continues to farm the land, and it is as fruitful and well cared for as it ever was. The Hobbits would be impressed.
www.hobbitontours.com