FARMERS’ QUEEN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5460, 12 August 1929, Page 2

FARMERS’ QUEEN.

QUEEN OF THE CARNIVAL. SATURDAY’S FINAL As the culmination of weeks of splendid, untiring, and unselfish ef--1011 the main part of the Queen Carnival ended on Saturday with the ascending, subject to coronation, to the throne as Queen of the Carnival of the Farmers’ representative. Miss H. Matthews, a bare £7 ahead of the Sports Queen. The proceedings commenced at 7 pan. with a procession which formed up at the Paeroa Hotel under ihe direction of Fire Superintendent W. J. Moore.. The cavalcade moved off with Superintendent Moore, dresred as a Maori warrior, in the lead, and in the following order The Cadet Band, Cr. H. J. Hare on fod a horse drawn waggon, a lorry. Mr J. Young on horseback as a jockey, a lorry with trailed attached, a fire-reel pulled by a bevy of pretty girls locking exceedingly, smart in fire brigade uniform, with an old, somewhat the-worse forwear horse-drawn Victoria bringing up the rear.

All the vehicles were splendidly decorated and had as passengers laughing girls and men resplendent in many varieties of fancy dress, some humorous, some picturesque, some of outstanding beauty. Their spontaneous mirth was as catching as “flu,” and the spectators soon caught the fever, feeling the gaiety of the hour and joining in the fun. The old Victoria was a bit late in getting off the mark, whether because of the horses jibbing or some of the passengers being late is not known : however, their antics in catching up with the main body made one glad they were late? And talk about, horse marines ! It was a delight to the eye to watch a hefty sailor “all at sea” on one of the nags, which by this time had quite entered into the. spirit of things, although needing a none too gentle prod now and again from the attendant ne.gro groom. The flaring torches held by those taking part in the procession added a bizarre and fascinating tench to the scene.

The. merry-makers proceeded as far as the Criterion Hotel, where they turned and retraced their way back to the Post Office. Square, where they came to a halt. Mr Moore marshalled his forces there, and directed the various vehicles to their stationary positions, whereupon the participants disembarked and dismounted to join in the general jollification. Spirited auctioneering took place when the procession broke up, the auctioneers being Messrs W. Bain, E. Edwards, and G. McMillan, for the Sports, Business, and Farmers respectively. All the stalls were very well patronised and the boards were cleared. The Business one had a good draw in suits and various articles of apparel, while a pedigree Jersey bull calf, donated by Mr H. J. Harris, fetched 18 guineas for the Farmers.

Superintendent Moore and his band of merry men kept things bright and going at top speed with song and humorous dialogue in the interval between the finish of the actual contest and the announcement of the final figures. The large crowd was held together bj then* entertainment, the gathering being considerably augmented by rhe addition of the theatre patrons shortly after 10 o’clock.

At twenty minutes after ten the Mayor, Mr W. Marshall, ascended the Post Office steps to announce the results, first calling upon the various Queens to join him. Great excitement was ‘manifest, and the atmosphere was tense while waiting. When Mi’ Marshall gave out the Farmers’ Queen, Miss H. Matthews, as winner, a mighty roar of cheers shattered the night air, to be followed with one of even greater volume when the Sports Queen, Miss V. Shand, was declared second. Last, but not least by any manner of means, was the name of the Business Queen, Miss I. Masters, who was cheered to the echo. Mr Marshall in his introductory remarks said that it was the most wonderful and the proudest moment of his seven years of office. He thanked everyone fcr the marvellous response they had made ; the ladies had done especially fine work. From the way the surrounding country had joined in Paeroa could no longer be considered as just a borough, but hereafter as a district. After the wonderful combination shown they must work together as a unit. Through what had been accomplished the borough would now be able to complete things it had for years intended to do, but had been held up from doihg on account of lack of funds. Mr Marshall expressed pleasure that so little ill-feeling had been shown in an affair of which keen competition was the very key-note. He hoped that the losers would remain the sports in defeat that they had been in the contest. Some things had been done by people, himself included, which might have been criticised, but they should be forgotten. The result of the carnival period was an amount of money raised to cause just pride. The various figures were: Hospital, £lOO ; queen carnival, £1560 5s 3d; donations, £5OO ; a total of £2160 5s 3d, with £l5B Is 9d for the earthquake fund, making a grai d total of £2318 7s.

In conclusion the Mayor said he had great pleasure in announcing th- receipt by him tha! .’dte.’noon of a telegram from the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, stating that the Government was prepared to subsidise the scheme to the extent of another £4OO. Mr Marshall said that the promptness and r-ympa-thetic consideration of the Minister were greatly appreciated. Thps the council would be able to clean up all the work in view. Mr Marshall then called upon Mr R. S. Matthews, the lathe;' of the Farmers’ Queen. On behalf of his daughter Mr Matthews congratulated all concerned in making the carnival a success, stressing on the fact of the wonderful work done by the ladies’ committees. To

those who aided in crowning Miss Matthews he extended special thanks, mentioning with pleasure the help given by her Maori friends.

Mr H. J. Hare, the next speaker, said he was sorry that all three Queens had not tied for first place, so that the Mayor could have drawn for the wjnner. As a councillor he thought it was a very fine thing for the district and would bring all closer together. The council had doubted raising the £450 first suggested, then doubted the raising of the £B5O proposed, but the public had responded magnificently, carrying the total to beyond all hopes. He thought it spoke—here the speaker hesitated until prompted by bne of the listeners saying ‘‘volumes’’—volumes in choosing such fine ladies as candidates. The Mayor and councillors were proud of the selection of ladies held in such estimalle regard. On behalf of the Farmers’ Committee he thanked everyone and congratulated all three queens.

Mr Shand, on behalf of his daughter, the Sports Queen, thanked those who had done so well in supporting the work. The Snorts Committee had done their best. He congratulated the Farmers’ Queen, and was quite satisfied ; it had been a splendid fight. Mr J. W. Silcock, chairman of the Sports Committee, who was greeted with the cheerful cry of “The good old Taniw’ha has just arrived,” said all three had done splendidly, and the Business Queen Committee, though last had done the best it possibjy could. The Farmers’ Queen would make a brilliant Carnival Queen, and the Sports and Business Queens fine Princesses. It was a most w’onderful achievement.

Mr E. Edwards, speaking for the Business Committee and on behalf of the Business Queen, regretted J;hat Miss Masters’ father was not able to be present owing to indisposition, but he was there in spirit and lying not very far away and could hear the cheering. Mr Edwards congratulated the Queens sincerely. Quite candidly, he had not thought the Business Queen had mud. of a chance, and the farmers had lets cf money. A Vocie : The bobby calves did it. Continuing, Mr Edwards said that the sports had not so much money, but great enthusiasm. He was • very proud, however, of their own little Queer. The effort of raising £366 was excellent, considering that the business men had helped all three queens. There had been a few pin pricks. People, including himself, might have said things they should not have said, but all should be forgiven and forgotten.

Upon the conclusion of the speeches dancing was indulged in at the Gaiety Theatre until midnight. The Amounts. The following were the amounts registered for each queen in the last

THE F ‘RMERS’ ORGANISER. AN INTERVIEW. / Mr H. J. Hare, organiser of the Farmers’ Queen Committee, in an interview, stated that his remarks at the commencement of the campaign, that this would be one of the happiest undertakings he had ever entered upon, had proved to be true. Putting aside the great honour that had been accorded the Farmers’ Queen, it must be recognised that the victory had a wider significance in that it welded the town and. country closer together. He had felt at all times the inspiration of solid team work on the part of the queens’ committees and friends, backed up by a splendid spirit of sin berity. Now that the battle was over th? competitive spirit could be forgotten in the feeling of general satisfaction that must prevail at the wonderful result of the combined efforts of those who had taken part in the .Paeroa Queen Carnival. COMPETITION RESULTS. The Farmers’ Queen Committee held a meeting at the Borough Chambers prior to the start of the procession on Saturday evening for the purpose of closing the competitions. The Mayor, Mr W. Marshall, undertook the task of counting the peas in a bottle to ascertain the winner of Mr Veale’s pedigree Jersey bull. The correct number was 1419, and although no one had this, there were nine who were but one out. There were six entries showing 1450, namely, G. Wood, R. Lotica, Miss Coad, R.. Gibson, J. Patterson and the Farmers’ Queen ; and throe, showing 1448, namely, R. I< Roberts,* Rastns Rufus, W. Ni Chamberlain. 9ho nine tickets were put in a hat, and a member of the. Sports Queen committee drew the winner, Miss E. Coad, Tirohia, with 1450. The competition for Mrs E. Wilson’s eleptrolux was also closed and the maize in the bottle counted by the Mayor. ' The correct number was found to be 529, Mr M. Crosby being decla”?d the winner with 527.

The candle manufactured by Mr T. C. Arno’d burned for 12 hours 11 minutes 30 seconds. Mr C. E. McNeil having estimated 12 hours 12 minutss, he was the winner, and secured the silverteapot presented by Mr L. V. Morris.

The number of peas in a bottle for Mrs Lowry’s hand-knitted baby outfit was 437, Mr C Neaber being nearest with 444.

For Miss Jean Buchanan’s nut bowl Mr R. H. Gerrard and Mr G. B. Buchanan tied for first place, each having e-timated 449, the correct number being 450. The draw resulted in a win for Mr Gerrand.

The results of the raffles, in accordance with the conditions attached by the Minister of Internal Affairs to the permit, are advertised elsewhere in this issue.

count r— Farmers’ Queen . . £600 0 1 Sports Queen k . 593 14 0 Business Queen . 366 11 2 Total £1560 5 3