• 🏠 Home
  • »
  • Live
  • »
  • The Beatles live: Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand

The Beatles live: Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand

The Beatles had travelled to Auckland from Australia on 21 June 1964, but didn’t perform in the city until 24 June.

Newspaper advertisement for The Beatles in Auckland, June 1964

As on other days during the New Zealand leg of their world tour, The Beatles encountered unwillingness from local police to provide adequate protection. Auckland’s Inspector of Police told the group’s management: “We didn’t want them here and I don’t know why you brought them”.

As a result, too few police officers were assigned to keep the crowds of fans at bay. During the day, as the group attempted to arrive at the Royal Continental Hotel, their Cadillac was held up by thousands of fans. Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans and tour organiser Lloyd Ravenscroft locked The Beatles in the car and pushed it 30 feet into the hotel’s garage, all the while fending off the fans.

The situation lasted around 20 minutes. Around 200 fans managed to get into the garage and had to be removed one by one before The Beatles could exit their car and go to their rooms.

The Beatles gave four concerts over two nights, which were each seen by 2,500 people.

Last updated: 24 January 2024
The Beatles live: Town Hall, Wellington, New Zealand
The Beatles live: Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand
Also on this day...

Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.

Latest Comments

  1. John Orbell Tuesday 10 June 2014

Leave a Reply