David and Hisae Lynch first began teaching aikido in New Zealand in 1965, and opened the country's first dedicated dojo in Central Auckland (10 Lorne St) the same year. In 1973 the family returned to Japan for a further 15 years when David was Manager, Japan for the New Zealand Government Tourist Office. On their return to Auckland in 1988 they opened a new purpose-built dojo behind their home in Epsom. They were responsible for extensive publicity for aikido, including press and TV interviews, public demonstrations, and arranging for senior Japanese aikido teachers to demonstrate at the New Zealand Easter Show. The first of these big demonstrations, in 1971, was conducted by a team from the Yoshinkan Dojo in Tokyo (Kushida, Inoue and Ogawa Senseis), and the second, in 1975, featured Koichi Tohei Sensei of the Ki no Kenkyu Kai assisted by Shizuo Imaezumi Sensei. The Easter Show events alone brought aikido to over 300,000 people.