Dairy Farmers have been asked to refrain from droving cows around the Five Forks area at the weekend as hundreds of people converge for the Five Forks School centennial celebration.
The school's weekend celebration of its 100th year coincides with the start of the farming calendar's "Gypsy Week", and although the Waitaki District Council has not officially sanctioned a droving ban or road closure, it has sent a letter to one dairy farmer requesting consideration be shown on the weekend.
Five Forks School centennial committee chairman David Ruddenklau said more than 200 ex-pupils and guests, some of whom would be travelling from Australia, would attend the centennial celebration, and the possibility of those arrivals coinciding with dairy cows travelling to winter pastures had the potential to cause disruption.
"Often the roads can get rather congested at that stage with cows. We are going to have quite a few cars, and it wasn't perhaps going to be a good mix; a whole lot of cows and a whole lot of cars."
Mr Ruddenklau said the centennial had taken two years to plan, but added that the whole concept had received overwhelming support from the community.
"I would have to say we have absolutely amazing community support and involvement. It's been an absolute pleasure to have been involved when you get so much community enthusiasm and co-operation."
The celebration would include the launch of a DVD and book about the school's history, he said.
"We're launching our book and DVD on the district on Saturday. The author of the book is from Auckland, but she's an ex North Otago lady and she's made a superb job. It's about a 125-page book. We're a relatively small country district so we've encompassed quite a bit of the district and the school.
"The DVD is mainly oral history. She's interviewed a lot of the older pupils of Five Forks and Fuchsia Creek Schools. It's three schools all combined - the Maruakoa School closed in 1917. Fuchsia Creek School shut down in 1948."
