Hobbiton, or How a real hobbit village appeared in New Zealand

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It was certainly a gamble - to travel halfway around the world to find a fabulous place that would perfectly fit the description of the Hobbit village from Tolkien's book. And yet he succeeded, although it took a lot of effort. Fly over more than one hectare of land on an airplane, and then persuade the owner of these lands and your family to support this crazy idea. But the result was worth it.

JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again.

This is how Tolkien introduced the little hobbit to the world many years ago. So people got to know the hobbit and the wizard, who, one morning, unexpectedly appeared at the doorstep of the Bag End, Bilbo's house in a peaceful village, and offered him a real adventure. The adventure that changed the hobbit's life forever.

In a way, this is quite similar to the situation with the Alexander family, which quietly and calmly raised sheep and cattle on the outskirts of Matamata, New Zealand. One morning in 1998, an unknown man appeared at his doorstep and asked if the Alexander wanted to share the adventure with him. The stranger needed a place where there was as little noise and as much greenery as possible, as well as a place where people live a quiet, peaceful life, like in the Shire from the book.

Unlike the hobbit from the book (and later from the film), the Alexander family had no idea that a wizard had come to their porch. However, they said, "Good morning!" man and invited him for a cup of tea.

The stranger told the Alexander about his idea and warned that the process of its implementation will be exciting, but difficult and long, and the life of the farmers will never be the same again. For some time, the farmers hesitated, who would not have done it in their place. But in the end, they said yes to this wizard named Peter Jackson and so began a long but exciting six-part adventure (6 films were made over the next 14 years (The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy).

The director later said that he noticed the beautiful countryside where the farm was located while flying over New Zealand (he tried to find the most suitable locations from the plane). Jackson had already been given the green light for shooting, the script was more or less ready, and all that remained was to find a place where the director could embody Middle-earth and its characters. This magnificent farmland in the countryside was ideal for the Shire and Hobbiton. There was not a single high-rise building in the area, there were no roads, no power lines … just solid green meadows, grassy hills, large trees and a small lake.

With the permission of the owners of the farm, Jackson and his team turned the place into the village of the smallest people in Middle-earth. Even the New Zealand Army helped the film crew and built a road leading to the set. At that time, one could see all kinds of heavy equipment on the road - trucks, bulldozers, excavators, literally everything that one could imagine. But the director, who adores his homeland, has ensured that nature is preserved in its original form. For example, a large tree, which was supposed to be the Meeting Tree of Bag End in the films, was carefully dug up and transplanted. It was tough, but the effort paid off.

In about 8 months, the film crew managed to transform the beautiful countryside landscape into the Shire. This was the village of hobbits that remained to the Alexander after filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy in December 2000. Fortunately for everyone, the farmers decided to keep the charming props and, moreover, allowed tourists to visit it.

“The day after the Fellowship of the Ring premiered, I contacted New Line Cinema in America and it took me eight months to get permission to tour the location,” recalls Russell Alexander, general manager of Hobbiton Movie Set Tours and unofficial Lord of the Shire."

But everything was not so rosy from the very beginning. On a farm with an area of 500 hectares every day, up to 400 actors and crew members worked hard day and night … And do not forget that all the years of filming Russell Alexander and his family essentially lived in this continuous turmoil, almost on the set … It was not for nothing that Peter Jackson said from the very beginning that for farmers everything will change forever, and the old life will never return. After the filming of The Lord of the Rings, the former Alexander's estate was unrecognizable. Moreover, the decorations were made mainly of temporary materials, such as a 7mm layer of expanded polystyrene, and they quickly deteriorated.

It would seem that the shooting is over, and now the Alexander can live in peace. But it was not there. The once-unknown quiet family estate has garnered a lot of attention from the start of filming. Tourists from all over the world began to flock to Hobbiton. Naturally, the first tours in 2002 were mostly informational, but more and more tourists came …

Hobbiton

Then, in 2011, Jackson offered the Alexander family another adventure, and Hobbiton began rebuilding for the filming of the Hobbit trilogy. This time, the hobbits' houses and other decorations were made more durable. After filming ended, the whole world knew the farm like Hobbiton, and it became one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country.

This is how a simple knock on the door can change the lives of people who want to take part in an adventure. Also, the friendliness of the family, who said good morning to the stranger and invited him for a cup of tea, has led to the fact that millions of people around the world have the opportunity to admire the fabulous beautiful scenery. And not only on the screen - over the past two decades, more than 800,000 people have visited the Alexander Farm at Hobbiton.

Visiting Hobbitton, drinking ale at the Green Dragon Tavern, or simply admiring the gardens and charming hobbit houses in silence, you quickly understand what comfort and tranquility mean, and why hobbits always have a good morning and why they don't like adventure.