IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 March 1921, Page 7

IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

SHOW AT WHANGAMOMONA. (From Our Stratford Correspondent.) Whangamomona, Saturday. The prosaic little backblocks township of Whangamomona, nestled between high hills, about forty miles from Stratford, was a place of much gaiety to-day, the occasion being the annual show, held in aid of the funds of the local Medical Association. From far and near, on horseback and in all manner of vehicles, the settlers came for the show, and by the afternoon the attendance was five hundred—a big gathering for such a sparsely populated district. Although Whangamomona is a small place, the in-* habitants are enthusiasts and optimists, and as a result of their enthusiasm they have a very live Medical Association, which exists for the purpose of procuring and maintaining medical aid for the district, and providing a medical practitioner, a qualified district nurse, and a cottage hospital. Before the war the Association supported a medical officer, and since then has secured the services of qualified district nurses . A residence, formerly the Bank of Australia premises—has now been obtained, and an emergency ward is ready for use. The Association is without a medical practitioner, and the show held to-day was organised with the object of raising further funds. Liberal support was given by the business people of Stratford, with the result thaF a comprehensive schedule of classes and competitions was arranged, for which splendid entries were received. As showing the potentialities of the district, the exhibits of flowers, fruit, vegetables, farm produce, sewing and fancy work, etc, were exceedingly interesting, and the large number of exhibits demonstrated the keenness of the settlers to assist in making the show the success it undoubtedly was. Two large marquees had been hired for the occasion, one being used for luncheon and afternoon tea, and the other for the exhibits, while a special corner was provided for the school children’s interesting exhibits, in which they receive instruction.

Amongst the competitions were numerous horse events, including some very fine jumping exhibitions. Another very interesting feature was the sheep dog trials, which attracted a big number of entries. A baby show, for babies under twelve months, wss also held, keen interest being taken by the mothers. The classes and competitions altogether totalled 198, and the judges had a busy time making the awards. The joint secretaries (Messrs. W. Grant and T. Taylor) had made their arrangements excellently, and there was no hitch.

The official opening was performed by Mr. R. Masters, M.P., who was welcomed by Mr. N. R. Cleland, chairman of the Whangamomona County Council. Mr. Masters congratulated the residents on the very fine display of exhibits, which demopstrated the great possibilities of the district. He would like to see the show extended to include exhibits of stock from the various parts’" of the district. He was convinced tnat they could run quite a good A. and P. show in the district, and this would serve to stimulate competition between the different farmers in getting the best class of stock. He congratulated the Association on the splendid work it had done in attending to the medical requirements of the district. Whangamomona had now a fine nurse’s home, which, he had been assured by the chairman of the Hospital Board, would be much improved in the near future, and he wanted to ask the settlers to back up the Medical Association, in order that it would be able to provide even better facilities than it had at the present time. Mr. M. Geever, president of the Medical Association, thanked Mr. Masters for attending- the show at such inconvenience to himself, and assured him that the Association would go ahead and not rest until it had attained its objects. Tn the evening a social was held, at which a number of the exhibits were sold by Dutch auction.