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The first time gay men camped at Vinegar Hill was shortlyafter New Year in January 1977. This consisted of six men,among whom were Kevin and Pearl (Peter) and Owen Draper,from the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay regions. It grew fromthere, and by the early 1980s had developed a particularculture. The first queen was appointed in 1985, for the 1986camp. This was Bill Armstrong, who was presented with theaward by Mal Vaughn, a popular bar operator from Wellington.Initially, the idea of “Queen of Vinegar Hill” was based ona comedic idea of beauty queens, but this later developedinto an idea of appointed royalty. As a result, the initialnames engraved on the trophy presented each year are thedrag names of the people appointed to the role of queen.The Queen is appointed every year by all the former Queenswho are present on the 31st of December. Only those who havebeen to Vinegar Hill for a number of years, and who haveprovided some particular service to the camp can be elected.It is part of the Queen’s responsibilities to collect thecamp fees on behalf of the Council, and to organise events.These events include the entertainment on the nights of the30th and 31st of December.
The entertainment between the 26th of December and 31stJanuary usually consists of a series of competitions.Recently, this has consisted of best buns for men, bestboobs for women, and best legs for all. Prizes are usuallyawarded to all competitors, but 1st and 2nd (and 3rd,depending on the number of competitors) get special prizes.This is usually followed by a large party around thecampfire. Also recently, movie nights have been shown duringthis week.
The entertainment on New Year’s Eve often consists of aseries of shows that continue up until prize giving. Theseshows are often drag queen/king performances, and some ofthem may have adult content. Prizes are awarded for Miss/Ms“Hospitality”, and to recognise the ‘camp’ campsites, BestUse of Technology, Best Lighting, and Best Decorations. Themost coveted of the campsite awards is the Best Campsiteaward. This is usually followed by the coronation of the newQueen, slightly before midnight, and followed by a danceparty that lasts until dawn.

Although the weather is generally good, as with allcampsites, at least one day of rain or other bad weather isto be expected. Some years are better than others in thisrespect, but there have been years when rain has been amajor problem. In 2006, although it rained several daysprior to the 31st of December, including the 30th ofDecember (which meant the postponement of that night’sentertainment), the rain was not heavy, and thus did notsoak the ground. As a result, the fair weather on the 31stallowed the ground to dry sufficiently for the dance party.
The 2007 camp was perhaps one of the driest in recent years,with only a few showers happening between Christmas Day andthe 28th of December. A short hail storm on the 25th,however, ensured a “white” Christmas before it melted in thewarm temperatures. The lack of rain, and the highertemperatures, meant that the river was at its lowest levelin a decade. This encouraged people to swim more often, andto take part in raft races down the river from a point about1.5 km upstream of the road bridge, giving a total ridedistance of about 2.5 km.
There were no subsidiarycompetitions on the 30th of December in 2007.

The 2008-2009 camp saw the reinstitution of competitions onthe 30th of December, with Fashion in the Field and Pick aPurse being held on that night. There was little rain overthe duration of the camp, with only light showers onChristmas Eve, and no rain at all between 25 December and 31December. However, for the first time in the memory of thoseattending the camp, it rained over the New Year. A lightshower fell just before the coronation of the New Queen, butabout 10 minutes after the coronation, the rain began.Initially a moderate shower, it settled to a light, but warmshower, that began around 11.45 and went till after 2am onthe 1st. This did not, however, dampen the party, whichstill went to 4am. This year was also marked as being thefirst in which the local Hunterville Police patrolled thecampsite on foot, rather than appearing in vehicles anddoing a drive around on a random basis. this new from ofpresence was welcomed by all.
The role of Queen has been filled by people from many partsof the North Island, including Wellington, Auckland,Hamilton, Manawatu, and the Hawkes Bay. Dion Leslie(2006-2007) was the first Queen to appointed who was youngerthan the Camp, and the youngest Queen to be appointed. Thecurrent Queen is Daniel Corney of Auckland, who has suppliedaid and assistance to a number of queens since the early2000s. The following list a complete list of the Queensappointed.

Index Of Reigned Queens
1 1985 Wellamiena Armstrong 1986
2 1986 Mal Kennedy-Vaughan (née Vaughan) 1987
3 1987 Pearl Pawson 1988
4 1988 A-Malcolm-B 1989
5 1989 Wanda Wilkinson 1990
6 1990 Dorothy Gibbs 1991
7 1991 Lilac Draper 1992
8 1992 Mike "Bikie Binzi" Binis 1993
9 1993 Slimmy Simmy 1994
10 1994 Sheela Shitface Johnston 1995
11 1995 Daniel Fielding 1996
12 1996 Ian Heteraka* 1997
13 1997 Lyn and Heather 1998
14 1998 Jimmi Hart** 1999
15 1999 Kim and Chris 2000
16 2000 Neil Day 2001
17 2001 Geoff Robinson 2002
18 2002 Calum Bennachie 2003
19 2003 Colin Waterhouse 2004
20 2004 Toni Farrow 2005
21 2005 Marc Smith 2006
22 2006 (Celine) Dion Leslie 2007
23 2007 Jenni James 2008
24 2008 Daniel Corney 2009
25 2009 ???????? 2010