1951: Mooloo

June 19, 2025

By AHNZ

Waikato Rugby Union were founded in 1921 but not until 1951 did they get the name Mooloos and their signature cowbell accompaniment.

Unlike some contrived thing (eg Matariki) it was a spontaneous, grassroots, emergent addition.

Hamilton’s radio station 1XH (est. 1949) played a cowbell on the air to the delight of their dairy economy listeners. This led to the question: Who is this cow and what’s her name? The answer evolved: Mooloo. Good results for the home team were occasion for the radio station to ding the bell and this soon passed over from radio to real life.

So that, even today, fans in the crowd are ringing the cowbell.

Or, perhaps not today after all if today is the Super Rugby Pacific final in Christchurch…

CEO of the hosting Canterbury Crusader side, Colin Mansbridge, has prohibited spectators from using the cowbell when the Chiefs (Waikato) visit for the game this weekend. This, from the team that traditionally blasts Vangelis’ Conquest of Paradise over the loudspeakers while a squad of armored cavalry gallop along the field swinging swords and crosses. They still would be doing that too except that it’s seen as too much of a celebration of Anglo culture and it had to be decolonised. Crusaders also made the concession of changing their logo to look like a couple of Maori fish hooks forming a ‘C’ for which they probably paid Ngai Tahu a million dollars to be permitted to do.

Mansbridge killed off the Crusader culture and almost the name as well. Now he’s trying to decolonise the Waikato too! He claims it’s for “safety” reasons and that the Addington stadium is too small for bells. There had better not be that excuse in future when Christchurch’s new Maori-named Te Kaha stadium comes online in 2026 (if on time) at a cost of $683-million (if on budget.)

“It began when radio announcer Alan Burcher introduced to the airwaves the sounds of a mooing cow, appropriate for the station serving Hamilton – capital of the dairy industry – and dairy lands throughout the Waikato, Hauraki Plains and King Country. The “cow-giving-voice” soon became 1XH’s popular signature, none the more so on the children’s session. ” – Hamilton: Memories of Radio 1ZH, dispatches.co.nz (2023)

“Apollo Projects Stadium was “tight” and “compact”, with “just enough room to wave a really thin flag”. “There ain’t no room to swing a bloody big cowbell and take out the person sitting in the seat beside you.” He said security would conduct thorough bag checks on entry and that cowbells would either be requested to be returned to vehicles or held in a safe location until after the match.” – ‘Melt them at the gate’: Cowbells banned for Chiefs-Crusaders final, 1News (18/6/2025)

During this, our Aotearoa History phase, everything not bolted down to the floor is questioned and cancelled and de-platformed. Only the parts of our culture with deep roots can withstand this strong wind and many statues, institutions, names, and historical figures have been wiped out. I don’t think Mansbridge will succeed this time. Trying to strike down the bells will make them peel louder and longer than he can possibly imagine. Probably he doesn’t really think he can but is simply being contentious in order to promote his big game. However, in doing so he doesn’t mind leveraging our heritage and threatening a heritage tradition for the sake of attention-seeking. That’s all any of the worst and most Woke people are ever doing.

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Image ref. Waikato Rugby Supporter Rosette, Decoart Products Limited. Waikato Museum

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