WHAKATANE CENTENNIAL SHOW

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 120, 7 February 1940, Page 4

WHAKATANE CENTENNIAL SHOW

LESS than two weeks hence will see the staging of the Whakatane and Rangitaiki A. & P. Association's Centennial Show. Planned to mark the thirty-sixth district fixture, the promoters are anxious in spite of the uncertainty of the times a,nd the difficulties confronting the farming community to make the Show one which will be worthy in every way of the great Dominion anniversary. It must be symbolic of the growth and development of the Rangitaiki Plains —from the waste of swamp as the settlers first knew it, to the broad and smiling acres of green grass i(t is today. It must represent in every way the industry of the man on the land, his application, ability and determination to produce better and still better stock. His vision and foresight to create grasslands by taming the wild and waste areas of stagnated and soured swamps. In short it must tell the glorious tale of toil and triumph, that has brought prosperity from a wilderness, and riches untold from apparent hopelessness. All this must .be portrayed in the exhibition to be held in the Whakatane showgrounds on Tuesday, February 20th. The procession of splendid animals from all parts of the Bay of Plenty and far beyond will be worth coming many miles to see, while the horticultural, industrial and home sections will no doubt be again well based on the high '■standards of the past. The Centennial Show has with it the call for even greater effort—once in a hundred years, it demands the full support of every person living in town or district. Farmers are urged to recognise the significance of the occasion by making a special effort to exhibit. By so doing they will be assisting towards the greatest district advertisement in a hundred years. Townspeople likewise have a duty to perform—not merely by patronising the show, but by showing an active interest therein, and supporting the sections which are open to the householder. Here is a district effort, dependent entirely on goodwill and co-operation Knowing its worthy nature and the fine response there has been in the past, we have no doubt but that this year's fixture will become a rallying point for all public-spirited persons in town or country.