Young Farmers To Gather Here

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31077, 4 June 1966, Page 10

Young Farmers To Gather Here

The 32nd annual general meeting of the New Zealand Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs will be opened in Christchurch on Wednesday evening by the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr G. Manning. The meeting will bring to Christchurch some 200 official delegates from councils and district committees of the movement throughout the country, and individual club members as well may attend the conference which will continue until Friday.

In six council areas and 48 districts the movement now comprises about 359 clubs, including 33 school clubs, and has a total membership of a little more than 10,000, including 8276 ordinary members and 1457 school club members.

Young farmers are today among the country’s most progressive farmers and they frequently give credit to the Young Farmers’ Club move-

ment for part, at least, of their success. The movement has a strong educational and community service bias. Debating and public speaking is one of its most important activities. The Ellesmere club, in the Christchurch district, incidentally won last year’s national debating contest held by the federation. Stockjudging is another key activity of club members.

There are also opportunities for members to win scholarships of various kinds to further their agricultural knowledge. These are given by banks, freezing companies and commercial interests and there are also opportunities for exchange visits to Australia, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. These are in addition to activities of an educational nature at club level.

At last year’s annual general meeting a gift of £2600 was handed over to Volunteer Service Abroad to help send young farmers on assignments abroad. This money was raised as a result of a host of activities by club members including shearing, fencing and potato picking. Recently when faced with an appeal for help for Indian

famine relief, the federation straight-away donated £5OO and at present members throughout the country, again through a number of special projects, are .seeking to reimburse the federation for this sum. In the Christchurch district alone more than £lOO has now been raised and more has yet to come in.

One of the highlights of the conference will be the presentation of the Sydney Freeman memorial lecture next Thursday evening at 8 p.m. by Mr J. W. de Gruchy, general manager of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board. This address will commemorate Mr Freeman, who was organising secretary to the movement for more than 20 years. It will be open to the public.

After Mr de Gruchy’s address the A. C. Camerpn memorial award for the South Island will be presented to Mr G. B. Henderson, of Lyndhurst in Mid-Canterbury, who has been selected as this year’s outstanding young farmer in the South Island.

On Friday afternoon at 3.30 p.m. the finalists in the radio leadership contest—one from each of the six council areas in the country—will be ques-

tinned by a questionmaster and judged by a panel of judges for their agricultural knowledge and radio personality. The prize for the contest is a return air trip to Sydney or a cheque for £4O. A Canterbury man is president elect of tbe federation this year. He is Mr R. M. Sinclair, of Waimate. He was chairman of the Canterbury council in 1964. He succeeds Mr A. J. Georgetti, of North Auckland, as Dominion president.

Another Canterbury man and veteran supporter of the movement is grand patron. He is Mr L. W. McCaskill.

A number of former presidents of the movement are now living in the central Canterbury area. They are Messis T. E. Streeter, J. U. Barclay, O. J. Osborne, A. F. Wright, N. Q. Wright, and P. G. Morrison.

The Canterbury council is host to next week’s annual general meeting, and making arrangements on its behalf is an organising committee of the Christchurch district committee, comprising the district chairman, Mr J. W. F. Moore, and Messis G. R. H. Smith, G. J. Barclay, W. A. McEwan (district secretary) and F. G. Ferguson (district organiser).