Drawing down curtain on big voluntary effort

Press, 15 August 1980, Page 9

Drawing down curtain on big voluntary effort

The curtain was almost drawn down on- the twen-ty-seventh world ploughing championships at a meeting of the organising committee at Lincoln last week. The contest was held on a nearby site in May in association with the national championships.

The occasion last week was a wintery day with hail, snow and rain and the chairman of the committee, Mr R. M. (Bob) Kingsbury, recalled that it was very much like the day on August 29, 1977, when the committee was formed to plan for the contest.

It may have been the last meeting of the committee, for it decided to vest its powers in its finance sub-committee, and subject to no objections being raised within 14 days of its members receiving an audited statement of the final financial position of the contest, the committee will automatically go out of existence.

After hearing further reports of the state of the finances, the chariman commented that a figure of about $40,000, already publicly mentioned as being the likely profit from the contest, would not be far out While a spell of fine and often relatively mild weather last May contributed greatly to the success of the contest, part 'of it was also due to the voluntary effort of a great many men and women, supported by others all over the country with ploughing associations from one end of the country to the other responding to a call to help provide funds for the contest.

A man who helped found the World Ploughing Organisation and set in motion the concept of world ploughing contests about 30 years ago, Mr Alfred Hall, of Great Britain, who has also been general secretary of the organisation since its inception, has said more than once that New Zealanders are regarded as very special people by the world organisation, for the way that they voluntarily go about organising a- con-

go about organising a- contest like that held this year, without State participation. The first world contest held in New Zealand in 1967 also earned high praise from overseas visitors for the way in which it was organised although then the weather was not quite so kind. Later at a social function in the evening to mark the winding down of the effort, Mr Kingsbury, in paying tribute to the efforts of a wide range of people, noted that the efforts of the women’s committee had turned in more than $B4OO in support of the contest. “I think that we can be proud that we have done it all on our own without Government help,” commented Mr Kingsbury, when there was some debate about Government indications of support that have never eventuated.

At last week’s meeting it was emphasised that the public should be -aware that the results achieved had been without any

financial assistance from' the Government at all. And further more it was noted that all the profits would be going to the New - Zealand Ploughing Association, for whom the contest was held by the organising committee, so that the local Lincoln Ploughing Match Association, whose members naturally played a leading part in the. event, was in no way benefiting financially from the contest. It was felt necessary that this should be emphasised lest the public should be under the misapprehension that the local association was now sitting pretty with a lot of funds. This is not the case.

Later the president of the New Zealand Ploughing Association, Mr I. B. (lan) Blair, said that the profit would bp invested to the best of their ability in the interests of the future of ploughing. What could have been the final meeting of the organising committee last week served to underline again the voluntary nature of the effort and the diverse range of activities that have been organised by people in support, of the contest. .

Unexpectedly, the committee received more than $539 from, the committee that organised a comprehensive display of New Zealand crafts as a feature of the supporting programme for the contest. As a result of a virtually one-man effort Mr John Gluyas, of Ashburton, reported sales of more than $12,500 from stamps and souvenir covers in aid of the contest, and it was reported that a second raffle organised by Mr lan Jordan, of Woodbourne, Blenheim, was likely to produce nearly $ll,OOO. Prior to the meeting of the organising committee two trees — a blue cedar and a giant redwood — were planted on the properties of Messrs J. F. and B. F. Smith, father and son, where the contest was held. Later both men were presented with sets of crystal including decanters and glasses and

framed photographs of the contest site, when Mr Kingsbury commented that they had had a beautiful site" for the contest on the properties of the two Smiths.

The opportunity was also taken at the social function in the evening to honour Mr P. F. (Forrest) Wood, who was secretary of the organising committee and had to carry a great deal of the burden of organising the contest. While Forrest has put a lot of time into competition ploughing over the years, in the weeks before the contest it was virtually a full-time job and his activities extended to things like dealing with shipping papers for ploughs coming from overseas for the contest and inquiries about accommodation. For more than two years he was secretary of the New Zealand Ploughing Association and he retired from that post to take up the secretaryship of the organising committee, because he felt that he had a responsibility to the local association to help with the organising of the event. For about eight years he has also been secretary to the Lincoln association.

Mr Kingsbury said that Forrest had not put a foot wrong in the whole time, during which he had had to handle well over $lOO,OOO. One of the few matters that Mr Wood did not have knowledge of in advance was the presentation to him of a canteen of cutlery in recognition of his efforts, in which he was strongly supported by his wife, who was active in the women’s effort in support of the ploughing. In expressing thanks to Mr Kingsbury and the organising committee for “a tremendous effort,” Mr Blair also presented a decanter and glasses to Mr and Mrs Kingsbury. Mr Kingsbury, who was New Zealand’s third national ploughing champion in 1958, took up the chairmanship of the organising committee for

the contest in 1977 at the request of the New Zealand association. He preceded Mr Blair as president of the New Zealand association. Mrs Kingsbury subsequently became convener of the women’s committee.

Opportunity was taken by Mr Kingsbury to also mention . the contribution of a number of people to the success of the contest and a presentation was also made to the manager of the Ellesmere Country Club, Mr B. McDrury — all meetings of the organising committee having been held at the club.