Sound Agricultural Progress

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 535, 19 May 1933, Page 7

Sound Agricultural Progress

a. and p.. association provides new exhibition • building HOUSING FOR WINTER SHOW history of association reviewed

FEW records are available regarding the early history of the association, but it is known that the . proposal to hold a show | first emanated from- the ; Rotorua Chamber of Commerce, > which had been started by a small j number of businessmen. At a meeting ■ of this chamber in 1909, Mr. T. H. I Sloane proposed that steps be taken j to form a Rotorua Agrieultural, Pas- ! toral and Industrial Association, and i that a summer show be held about I February, 1910. He urged that a j public meeting be called by the cham- ' ber to launch the proposal and elect a provisional committee. The meeting was duly called but at first the project did not meet with unanimous approval. One person present moved a resolution proposing that the holding of the show be postponed for a few years. This did not meet witfi the wishes of Mr. Sloane, who was keen on establishing the association, and he moved as an amendment that decision be postponed and that another meeting be called in a week's time sc that it might be ascertained how many members would be available. This course was followed and at the next meeting 160 persons had prom'sed to join up at a subscription oi 5-s for women and 10s for men. The association, therefora, carne into existence and the first show was held on the Marine Parade in February, 1910. This fixture proved a greal success and over £70 was taken at the gates. The late Sir Joseph Ward officially opened the show, which surpr'.sed and delighted everyone, the garden and field crops being specially attractive. First Annual Meeting. Press records show that the first annual meeting of the association was held in 1910 in the Victoria Institute, about 40 members attending. The chair was occupied by Mr. D. Lundon. The balance sheet showed the receipts for the year to have been £266 8s 4d, cgmprising members' subscriptions, £56 2s; donations and special prizes, £23 7s; gate receipts, £72 6s 6d; entries, £55 8s 7d; advertisements in catalogue, £18 9s; sale of catalogues, £3 10s 7d; tea tent, £17 13s 3d; sale of timber, £8 6s 6d; side-shows, £1 5s; refund of railway guarantee, £10. The expenditure totalled £215 10s 6d, made np as follows: — Prizes, £62 4s 9d; printing and advertising, £48 11s 9; clerical work, £19 17s- 6d; cartage, £6 11s 4d; judge's expenses, £5 9s; railway guarantee, £10; tea tent, £15 13s 7d; rent of shed, £3; hand, £6; hire of tents, £5 11s; fees, £4 4s; insurance, £5 17s 6d; stationery, etc., £22 10s ld. In moving the adoption of the report and balance sh'eet, the chairman commented upon the success of the first show and declared thei thanks of the community were due to Mr. T. Sloane for promoting the association in Rotorua. The show had done much to direct attention to the agricultural land of the district.' Turnips grown by th'e Rotorua Meat Co. on their land at Te Ngae had ' won a f orty guinea cup in competition with the whole of the Waikato land, while Mr. E. Yaile had won prizes for his turnips grown at Waiotapu. He also referred to the advent of the butter factory, the buildings for which were th'en being erected, and expressed the opinion that its operations would further help to bring Rotorua land to the front. ■ Officers were then elected as follows i-^Patron, Mr. W. D. S'. Macdonald, M.P.; president, Mr. D. Lundon; vice-presidents, Messrs. Sloane, Martin, Clinkard, Wylie, Butcher, Vaile, Davis, Gardner, .Withy, Corlett, Birks, and the Rev. C. A. Tisdall; treasurer, Mr. W. H. Yourig." The old committe was re-elected with the. addition of Mr: J. R. 'Flower'and Miss F. Murray.. Mr. J.:W. Wrigley was appointed secretary and Mr, L. C. Ryan auditor

| New members elected included 1 Messrs. A. G. Cottrell, G. Hicks, Dwyer, H. B. Morton, Ter.vy and Mrs. Hicks. The holding of a root display was discussed and the question was left in the hands of the committee. Development Necessary. To accommodate the entries it was necessary each year to ereet sheep and cattle yards and marquees and remove them again when the show was over. This ,entailed a great deal of work, although it was carried out by free labour from the ranks of the enthusiasts. After the second show it was, therefore, decided "to hold the third fixture. on Arawa Park. At this time the park was not a very popular ground and many people were opposed to the change, especially when a fee of £20 was demanded for the use of the park. However, the progressive section carried the day and the move was justified. A sum of over £70 was taken at the gates and the day showed a. profit of £40. The reason for removing the show to Arawa Park was that it would there be possible to erect permanent yards, and of these 30 were built in the first year, with a temporary shed 47ft by 27ft, alongside the grandstand. All work was carried out by free labour. Bad luck, however. followed with the fourth show in 1913, The weather was bad, rain fell in torrents all day. The 1 show turned out a financial loss and the committee appeared to lose heart. 1 Subsequently meeting after meeting was called and nothing done, with the result that no further show was held until 1917. Reorganiration. In the year 1916 Mr. J. Banks, Mr. T. H. Sloane and other enthusiasts made a d.etermined effort at reorganisation and were successful in getting the association once more under wa.y. It was probably at this stage that the name of the association was al- , tered by dropping the word "industrial" from the title, though it is not quite clear when the change was made. In any case the reconstructed Rotorua A. and P. Association held a Very successful summer show on Arawa Park in 1917 and cleared a profit of £100. Mr. Banks was elected pr.esident of th'e association and the summer shows continued with success for some years with excellent exhibits of horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, vegetables and roots, while there were interesting entries for the competitions. First Winter Show. It is difficult at this stage, owing to administrative troubles, to follow the history of the association with any degree of accuracy, but it appears that the decision to hold a winter show arose from Mr. T. H. Sloane's enthusiastic action in taking a collection of vegetables from Rotorua to the Auckland Winter Show in 1922. These exhibits were so favourablv

commented upon that the Auckland Association asked him to try and get Rotorua to put a district court in th'e following winter show. Mr. Sloane promised to do his best and upon his return home a meeting was called to see if it were possible to send an exhibit thoroughly ^ representatiye of the Rotorua district to Auckland. A committee was framed to further this project, and the first winter show in Rotorua was held in th'e autumn of 1923, shortly before the Auckland Winter Show, for the purpose of facilitating tha colleetion of exhibits for the district court.. This show, held under disabilities as regards accommodation and unfavourable weather, was, nevertheless, an undoubted success and the Rotorua District Court secured second prize at Auckland. The First Prize. In the following year, profiting by experience, the promoters were successful in securing first prize against very keen competition. Rotorua was

awarded 376£ points, Kaipara coming second with 373 points, and Whangarei and Onehunga following in the order named. It is pleasing, also to note that the exhibition was a financial success, showing a surplus of £10. I The principal receipts were: Bopus j from Auckland Association, £35; first J prize, £10 and silver cup; second prize ' for upkeep, £10; donations, £77. Ex- . penditure was £74 for supervision and I upkeep; general expenses, £33; and I printing, £19 (including cost of printing 8000 pamphlets dealing with' the resources of Rotorua). That this victory was a very fine advertisement for the district was proved by the apprecia.tive press reports upon the root exhibits, by references to the display in Parliament, by personal congratulations'from the Prime Minister and the admiration expressed by thousands of visitors to the show. Five cases of exhib:ts were also sent to the Wellington Winter Show the sarne year and were most favourably commented upon. Summer Show Dropped. Until the year 1927 the summer show was a popular fixture, and from i what can be gathered from old records it appears to have paid its way. But the show date that year (March 23) proved disastrous from a weather point of view. Proposals for a postTonement were made but it was eventually decided to carry on. The balance sheet for that year showed that the summer show resulted in a loss of £86, while the winter show returned a profit of £43 11s 2d. Notwithstanding the fact that the year's operations showed an increase of £31 19s 7d in assets over liabilities, the loss on the summer show caused the committee to question the advisability of continuing to- hold the fixture and at the annual meeting a recommendation that th'e 1928 show be deferred was carried, and since that date the association has concentrated upon promoting the success of the winter exhibition.

Advancement Programme. As the winter show gained'in popularity it became abundantly plain to the association that a move would have to be made to provide adequate accommodation. The Rotorua Motor Transport Co. had been very obliging in making their big, centrally-situated garage available each year for the exhibition, but the room was not there either to provide space for efficient display of exhibits or to provide the amusement attractions necessary to draw public attendance.] Arrangements were therefore made in 1930 to co-op'erate, with the Dannevirke A. and P. Association in promoting an art union to raise funds to carry out a buiiding programme. The venture proved a th'orough success, Rotorua's share of the proceeds amounting to roughly £6000.

This happy result placed the finances of the association upon a sound basis and the question of proceeding without delay with the buiiding programme was discussed with keen interest. The. events of recent month's are doubtless. fresh in the public mind. One section of the association was anxious to spend the money for the purpose for which it was raised and erect show buildings without delay. But a more cautious section urged the investment of tlie funds and the postponement- of expenditure upon buildings until more propperous times, and this course was, at first, adopted. The matter was not allowed to rest, however, and the discussion was re-open-ed, the decision to postpone buiiding rescinded, and steps taken to consider amended plans. Finally Mr. E. La Trobe Hill, the association's architect, was authorisied to prepare plans and sp'ecifieations for the present commodious buiiding, which has been erected at a cost of approximateil £2900.