In 1994, Mark ‘Yonderman’ Stirling and his partner Jane discovered Burning Man by accident while on a camping trip in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Mark decided to stage the first regional burn in New Zealand in late 2003 as part of the South Island's Visionz festival. It was met with great enthusiasm from the participants, so the 2005 and 2006 burns took place as stand-alone events, attracting around 200 people (Mark co-ran these events with Grant ‘Tribalman’ Knowles, a friend and local drum-maker/festival organizer). 2007 marked the first year the festival was held in the North Island. In mid-2006, amidst the planning for the 2007 event, a group of highly enthused, motivated burners joined with Yonderman to form an organizational structure and bring the event north. The event was aptly named Megamorphosis, which means Massive Change. Kiwiburn has helped create a large community of burners around New Zealand, and the annual event, along with the occasional localized gatherings, continue to maintain its unique culture. Kiwiburn celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2013 with the theme enlighTENment, and its 20th anniversary in 2024 with Decadance. After seven burns in
Whakamaru Domain, Mangakino, Kiwiburn moved to a private farm in
Hunterville in 2014. It was a huge undertaking to find a new site, close to a town and away from roads, where the locals immediately embraced the festival's culture. The event is now held annually at the end of January. In mid February 2025, Kiwiburn organisers confirmed they were investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour at the 2025 Kiwiburn festival at Hunterville between 22 and 27 January. A person attending the festival told
Radio New Zealand that several individuals had masturbated and had open sex in the presence of children following the burning of the effigy.
Past events Kiwiburn did not run in 2019 due to difficulty obtaining resource consent, or in 2022 due to COVID-19. ==Themes==