Bush (79), the doyen of sports photographers in New Zealand, has photographed many tests at Carisbrook, after first starting as a photographer at The New Zealand Herald in 1948.
His memories of Carisbrook are all good, from the first test match against South Africa in 1956 to the freezing British Lions test in 1983.
"I remember Mark Irwin, the Otago prop, having to go off in 1956 because he had a broken collarbone or something. Those were the days when there were no replacements so he just stood on the sideline with his parka on. He wasn't retreating from the sideline. Those were great days for Otago rugby," Bush said.
"The crowd has always been close and vocal. The after-match functions were always a great carry-on. You'd get out of there about midnight and there'd be all the stragglers around. There'll be a few ghosts around on Saturday night. Those after-match functions, you did not rush away."
He said the ground was in great nick now but that was not always the case.
"In 1983 a lot of All Blacks wore rubber wetsuits. That was before the thermal days. It was incredibly wet. I got a really good picture of Dave Loveridge scoring a try as he went into the freezing water. But that left-hand side of the ground, at the end, at times it was a dirty great big bowl of porridge.
"That was a very cold day. The British photographers there said `You can't have us on how cold it is back home after this."
Bush said photographers always liked venturing south to work in the Otago Daily Times dark room as everyone was always welcoming and the gin was in good supply.
The media function the night before the test was always a great night, and he still remembered the photo he took in 1971 of the large contingent.
Bush has a family christening this weekend and so would not be venturing south.
"I'd love to have been there. But sometimes other things crop up and you make the commitment."
He worked at the first test of the year at New Plymouth last Saturday.
He has an exhibition of his photos touring the country, which is due in Dunedin next year.
