Rain rather than gold at Klondike Days exposition in Alberta

Press, 21 July 1986, Page 3

Rain rather than gold at Klondike Days exposition in Alberta

By

JOHN MULLINDER

in Edmonton

New Zealanders at the Klondike Days exposition in Alberta, Canada, have struck rain rather than gold, but their spirits have not been dampened.

New Zealand is the feature nation at the annual show in Edmonton, which city is experiencing its worst flooding in 65 years with up to 900 people living in river valley homes under threat from rising floodwaters.

The 28 New Zealand companies represented at the exposition are located indoors in the huge exhibition complex, however, and they hope the more summery weather forecast for this week will attract Canadians by the thousands.

They are being helped by Wellington’s Ngatl Poneke Maori concert party and the Rotorua Agrodome sheep show which are performing daily on a special stage next to the New Zealand exhibits. The country and western

singer, Suzanne Prentice, and the Roger Fox Band add a New Zealand flavourr to the comprehensive entertainment programme for the 10-day event. The concert party has scored wide news media coverage and the Agrodome’s Ivan Bowen, a former International Golden Shears winner, featured prominently in an article in the "Edmonton Journal.”

The Radio New Zealand programme host, Phillip Liner, passing through Edmonton, was Interviewed about New Zealand on local radio "but all they wanted to talk about was the latest in the Rainbow Warrior affair.” (The environmental group, Greenpeace, originated in Canada.) New Zealand’s news media profile has been heightened by the staging of the World Sheep and Wool Congress at the Klondike venue. A reader in animal science at Massey University, Mr Bob Barton, presented two

papers to the congress which has attracted 400 participants representing 15 sheep-breeding nations.

Mr Barton was impressed with how much delegates knew of the New Zealand sheep and wool scene, but critical of some of the false impressions given to the congress by other speakers. One had the average

weight of a New Zealand lamb carcase exported to Canada as weighing 20kg whereas it is about 6kg lighter. The Canadian sheep industry was small and comprised predominantly hobby farmers who had perhaps five, 10, 15 or up to 80 sheep and that was all, he said. A New Zealand exhibitor,'Mr Gary Thomas, of the ■ Wanganui computer stock recording firm, Sires Systems, Ltd, said he had talked to one Canadian sheepfarmer who had 70 sheep “and every one of them had a Christian name.”

The show will end on July 26.