World Ploughing Contest (41st), Outram, Dunedin 1994

There is a Cairn of Peace in Allanton Road, Outram, presented by the World Ploughing Contest to Neil Gamble for organising for New Zealand to host the Contest in 1994.

The Contest has been held all over the world since 1953, and has only been held in New Zealand on four occasions - in Lincoln in 1967 and 1980, in Methven in 2010, and in Outram in 1994. In the 69 year history of the contest, there have been three New Zealand world champions - Bruce Redmond won it on home turf in 2010, Alan Wallace won it in 1981 in Wexford in Ireland, and Ian Miller of Mosgiel, a long-standing member of the Taieri Blokes' Shed, won it in 1982 in Tasmania. 

The first Cairn:
With the motto "Let peace cultivate the land” the Cairn of Peace Monument to commemorate the World Ploughing Championships held in Gortroe, Killarney in 1954, was unveiled by Mrs Anna May McHugh, Managing Director of National Ploughing Association (NPA) and Mr Hugh Barr, (aged 93) from Coleraine, Northern Ireland, who won the World Ploughing championships in Killarney that year. The Cairn of Peace, symbolises the spirit of this competition, in keeping with tradition, a piece of stone from all the countries that participated in the world forms part of the cairn. Mrs McHugh, was secretary of the National Ploughing Association when the world championships were held in Killarney. The Cairn is located on Mission Road, Killarney. The plough was donated by local Farmer, Sean O’Donoghue, the Cairn was designed and built by Ben O’Sullivan, Ballyhar.

The Outram Cairn

[From 1994 handbook, available to view at the Taieri Historical Society Museum in Outram] 

The Outram Cairn was designed by Trevor Watt - both his father & brother were NZ ploughmen.

As tradition dictates, a Cairn of Peace, containing the named plaques of each competing country, is erected on the site of each World Ploughing Championship. The purpose of which is to symbolically represent the spirit of the competition and the sportsmanship between the competitors. lt also embraces the ideal of peace between all nations during the period of the sporting event, no matter what cultural, ethnic or political differences or disputes that may exist.

The 1994 World Ploughing Contest Cairn of Peace is made up of three main components; a stainless steel form, a white column and a mound of stones, all juxta­posed to create a dynamic form that will invite further investigation and perusal. Each component holds its own significance.

A cairn is traditionally, as the dictionary defines, 'a mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker'. A cairn in thls traditional sense (ie. a mound of stones), is in memory of the past, and is therefore prevalent in this monument in recognition of past competitions and past competitors.