ABSTRACT
This is probably the first attempt to bring together a history of the Bear movement in New Zealand. Existing evidence of Bears in New Zealand reveal two organizations. 1 Although they were formed some years apart, and the first is defunct, they grew from similar social aims, flourished with almost equal membership numbers, were entirely male, and generally based in the same main city with a small spread of members throughout the rest of the country. Although the first group had certain Bear attributes, only the second has continued a positive ongoing promotion of Bear qualities by the production of frequent newsletters and a variety of social occasions.
