P. & A. SOCIETY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 June 1938, Page 8

P. & A. SOCIETY

MEETING OF WAIRARAPA COMMITTEE. RENTAL OF SHOWGROUNDS. (“Times-Age” Special.) The monthly meeting of the general committee of the Wairarapa P. and A. Jociety, was held .at Carterton this aorning. The president, Mr J. Fisher, occupied the chair. The treasurer reported that cash in .and totalled* £485 18s 7d. Subscripions received since last meeting imounted to £46. “The Ground Committee was defin.tely against it,” observed Mr Fisher, when referring to a proposal to provide seating accommodation round the show ring. It would be a costly job, he added, and would not serve any useful purpose. The president was appointed to represent the society on the Wairarapa 3oys and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs’ Association. , “There should be one licensing authority with complete control,” stat--3d the secretary, Mr L. H. Smart, in ;he course of a brief discussion on the question of the licensing of sideshow nen. “While every association had authority to issue licences, the whole ;hing was farcical.” An application was received from the Wairarapa Rugby Union for a reduction in the rental charged for the use of the Carterton Showgrounds on account of the poor state of its finance. Mr Smart said that for the past three or four years the Union had been paying the society £BO a year. In urging that the application be favourably considered, Mr Q. Donald said that last year the Union finished up £l5O to the bad. The Union had received a grant of £4OO from the South African tour but the New Zealand Union had retained £2OO as part payment of a loan of £6OO for the rebuilding of the Memorial Park grandstand. Last year the gross gate receipts from club games at ’Carterton totalled £44 4s and from representative games £57 4s. Expenditure on ground preparation and wages amounted to £l2 12s. With an improvement in its financial position, the Union would, no doubt, be pleased to pay a higher rental again. At one time the Union used to take £6O a week from club matches. He moved that for this year the rental be reduced to £5O. Other members supported Mr Donald and the motion was carried unanimously. The secretary reported that associations all over New Zealand were supporting the society’s protest against the Royal Show being allotted to Waikato on the same dates as the Wairarapa fixture. The only two refusals so far came from Auckland. If the clashing could not be avoided, observed MiSmart, it was going to be a very serious thing for the society.