MASTERTON'S NEW SHOWGROUND

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 126, 20 February 1908, Page 4

MASTERTON'S NEW SHOWGROUND

A WEICHTY QUESTION; WILL THE CHANGE TAKE PLACE? Tho officials of tho Mastcrton A. and P. Association are' doon in the throes of deciding this important ancf interesting' question. ' K party of the nromiiiont members,, together with some, of tlio visiting , judges,, were driven to tho proposed new site—-part of the Solwiiy Estate—this, morning by tho President, Mr.: J. D. Cruickshank. ■ Tho Solway Estate, formerly tlio residence of: Mr. Donald, consists of about 160 acres, 1 of which tho Mastcrton Show bodv • has tho option of purchasing either the wholo, or M wres, or 25 : acres, at practically cost price. Tho offer is made by a syndicate which lately bought tho cstato, tlio members of ' whicil aro Wairarapa men interested in tho; M.isterton Show. Tho t.ohvay Estate was tho clnof shepp station of the district in the early days, and it 'possesses,.' besides the. homestead and its 70 acrciSj another cottage on the remaining 90 acres, which is spoken, of as tho residence of the. showground caro-' taker.; The 90-acro bargain is the one entertained, and a decision, is to bo come to at a meeting of the A. and P.' members on Saturday of next week.

Tho enterprise is not regarded with unmixed favour by the townspeople of Masterton. Tho' now site is a mile and a half froj-n- tho Post Office, and on; show days tho townspeople would have to travel to the ground by brake at an additional cost of about 2s. a head. Tho town . tradespeople also seo in the now scheme a loss of trade, for spent on brake rides and timo spent a- mile .and a half from town arc, not calculated to swoll their takings. Tho merits of tho scheme, however, are stoutly uphold by others. Thoy claim that tho new ground is better for tho public, because it is prettier; better for the Association, becauso it is larger and fit for all timo for what they claim must become Wairarapa's central chow; and better for tho exhibitors, because it touches the railway line, and therefore would allow stock to be-detrained with tho maximum convenience. Masterton Show authorities say that outside of the Masterton radius'there }"• a great undeveloped-field of exhibitors, w l '. do not now exhibit becauso of the distant \he ground from the railwayline. Astv"' Wairarapa. Show at: Carter-, ton, whicW \ •■'■>i(dy possesses railway proximity, the affiurtious Masterton- men say that this must soon go under as a Wairarapa Show. It is too tramped, the town itself is aniall in-comparison with-Masterton, aiidas a eenti'o of attraction for the showgoers of this great territory it has had its day. But if the town is so important, is not that au argument iiguinst the somewhat distant now site proposed for Masterton ? : The enthusiasts reply that the shilling drive will be somewhat pleasant, vehicles—an- attraction in themselves—will become more conspicuous, and, after all, there is 1 bound to be ari electric ear sei'vice running to -Solwny within ton year?! - ■

The (sliggesdon is that the cost of the new 90 acres will not exceed tho value of.the old 34.} ncres us building laud, and that the old show buildings should be shifted to the .now ground at a cost to he ascertained,, If the niteablo values of tho. two properties are equal, thou tho rates, which now ai'nount to about- £40 or £50 per .iiinmii, would.not bo .increased ou tho greater ara»-

Tho pros and cons were .freely-debated during tho visit yesterday' morning. As the brake left tho streets of the town far ill the rear, tho conviction grow on the visiting judges—who, perhaps, ivcre (being disinterested), the best critics—that tho new site was too far out. "It will cost, peoplo two shillings ahead extra," they said, '"to visit tho show, and they can't afford it. You ought to get four or five thousand Mastorton peoplo attending a show, for. they aro the real making of success. But they, will not come to Solway. The scheme will: bo a mistake." But after-the party had been driven through tho excellent .avenue of pine, trees, and had seen tho lovely bush, the streams with their trout and "fancy water fowl, and tho shaded glades with their conveniences for picnic parties and swings, and had sampled tho orchard fruits and tasted— alas!—the blackberries, the objections all melted away. • .. The unanimous-verdict was—"The 1 change •has got to come, and the sooner the better."