| Year | Venue | Society | Play | Playwright | Director | Adjudicator |
|---|
| 1970 | Balclutha | Milton Theatre Group | Black Comedy | Peter Shaffer | Day Henry | JC Reid |
| 1971 | Palmerston North | The Coffee Company, Kerikeri | Enchanted Night | Slawomir Mrosek | Peter Trim | Sunny Amey |
| 1972 | Christchurch | Ngaio Revue Company | Calm Down Mother | Megan Terry | Stuart Devinie | John Dawick |
| 1973 | Auckland | Matamata Drama Society | Trevor | John Bowen | Paul Bowater | John Thomson |
| 1974 | Balclutha | South Otago Theatrical Company | Zoo Story | Edward Albee | Del Gordon | Bertha Rawlinson |
| 1975 | Hamilton | Opunake High School Drama Group | Mr Bones and Mr Jones | Eve Hughes | Gabrielle Barr and Julia Stockman | Keith Thomson |
| 1976 | Nelson | Elmwood Players Christchurch | One Season's King | George MacEwan Green | Alex Henderson | Anne Bushell |
| 1977 | Wellington | South Canterbury Drama League Little Theatre | The Love of Don Perlimplin | Federico Lorca | Dawn Somerville | Tony Taylor |
| 1978 | Christchurch | Manawatu Theatre Society | Passion | Edward Bond | Robert Rimmer | Keith Thomson |
| 1979 | Hawera | Marlborough Repertory Society | A Slight Ache | Harold Pinter | Robert Logan | Margaret Greenway |
| 1980 | Balclutha | Asterix Theatre Workshop Hawkes Bay | The Band Rotunda | James K Baxter | Gavin Garner | Lois Paynter |
| 1981 | Paraparaumu | Northland Players, Kaikohe | The Mating Dance | Clare Corridan | Clare Corridan | Keith Thomson |
| 1982 | Paraparaumu | Taihape Dramatic Society | Freesias | Welby Ings | Welby Ings | John Dawick |
| 1983 | Shell Christchurch | Globe Theatre Dunedin | Out of the Flying Pan | David Campton | Mickie Reid | Margaret Sadler Watson |
| 1984 | Shell Wellington | Shoestring Theatre Company Wellington | One for the Road | Charles Harter | Charles Harter | Laurie Swindell |
| 1985 | Shell Whangarei | Northland Players Kaikohe | A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | Peter Nichols | Sue James | Allan De Malmanche |
| 1986 | Shell Christchurch | Elmwood Players Christchurch | Ritual for Dolls | George MacEwen Green | Andrew Davidge | Dale Hendry |
| 1987 | Blenheim | Napier Repertory Players | Maillot Jeune | John Cocking | Kathryn Crerar | Pamela Pow |
| 1988 | Christchurch | Rotorua Little Theatre | Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi | Pam Gems | Jill Horne | Brian Staniland |
| 1989 | Hamilton | Taupo-nui-a-tia Players | The Whale Rider | Whiti ihimaera | Gwyneth Glover | Dawn Somerville |
| 1990 | Wellington | Riccarton Players | The Mating Dance | Clare Corridan | Christine Stachurski | Claire Marsh |
| 1991 | Dunedin | Wellington Repertory Theatre | Five Arguments Against Marriage | Alan Williamson | Ewen Coleman | Bryan Aitken |
| 1992 | Wellington | Nelson Repertory Theatre | The Donahue Sisters | Geraldine Avon | | Michael Poynor |
| 1993 | Taupo | Elmwood Players Christchurch | One Warrior's War | Barry Grant | Barry Grant | Natalie Ellis |
| 1994 | Christchurch | Centre Stage Taupo | Lilly and May | Patricia Cornelius | Alma Riley | Brian Staniland |
| 1995 | Palmerston North | Stagecraft Theatre Wellington | Slam | Jane Nixon-Willis | Iona Anderson | Hazel Menehira |
| 1996 | Wellington | The Actor's Company, Christchurch | The Chimney | Bruce Goodman | Lex Matheson | Lois Paynter |
| 1997 | Nelson | Exit Stage Left Productions, Wellington | Body Dreams | Craig Thaine | Alan Ottaway | Nerissa Moore |
| 1998 | Palmerston North | Marlborough Repertory Society | Skin Tight | Gary Henderson | Emily Staples | Dawn Somerville |
| 1999 | Taupo | Stagecraft Theatre, Wellington | Night Light | Mary Coffey | Mary Coffey | Bryan Aitken |
| 2000 | Christchurch | Oily Rag Theatre, Christchurch | The Adjudicator | Tim Barcode | Julian Southgate and Jenny Alexander | Hazel Menehira |
| 2001 | Feilding | Hutt Valley High Company | The Magic and the Madness | Charles Harter | Charles Harter | Nerissa Moore |
| 2002 | Wellington | Wellington High School | Rock of All Ages | Annie Millard | Annie Millard | Sheridan Hickey |
| 2003 | Waimate | Onstage Productions | The Miner's Lullaby | Rae Reynolds | Pat Barr-McLeod | Elric Hooper |
| 2004 | Inglewood | Top Dog Theatre Christchurch | Ritual for Dolls | George MacEwan-Green | Derek Doddington | Ewen Coleman |
| 2005 | Westport | Feilding Little Theatre | The Wooden Pear | Gillian Plowman | Miralie Thomas Vincent and Trish Gray | Dawn Somerville |
| 2006 | Palmerston North | Wellington High School | Nobody's Fool | Annie Millard | Annie Millard and Roger Mantel | Denise Walsh |
| 2007 | Dunedin | FAHS Feilding High School | Lest We Forget - FAHS War Years | Karla Crofts and Year 13 Drama Students | Karla Crofts | Nanette Wright |
| 2008 | Wellington | LJJ Theatre, Christchurch | Bent | Martin Sherman | Laurence Wiseman | Claire Marsh |
| 2009 | Palmerston North | Dramatix Youth Theatre, Nelson | Youthanasia | Scott Frater | Scott Frater | Bryan Aitken |
| 2010 | Wellington | Napier Repertory Players | The 75th Day | Philip Bentley | Sharon Kerr | Pam Logan |
| 2011 | Nelson | Invercargill Repertory Society | A Talk in the Park | Alan Ayckbourn | Gussie Johnson | Natalie Ellis-Wilson |
