SYDNEY SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 81, 7 April 1931, Page 9

SYDNEY SHOW

A GREAT EXHIBITION

WHAT OF DEPRESSION?

(From "The Post's" Representative.) .. . SYDNEY, 2nd April. Depression, repudiation, Mi. Lang, and .other drawbacks to national prosperity have meant practically nothing to the Sydney Royal Show from the point of view of a spectacle. Of course, it is almost certain that the aggregate attendance this year will bo smaller than usual, but the Show is such an institution, that thousands and thousands are bound to give their patronage on the great people's days that aro still to come. The Show seems to havo a peculiar fascination for the people of the State, and although everyone agrees that one Show is very like another the crowds increase year after year. No Show is quito like the Sydney Royal, which is so bewildering in its size and universal, in its scope and activities. It lias been described as: tlie shop-window of the Commonwealth, and the description is certainly apt. Tlie primary and secondary industries combine to demonstrate the vast resources of Australia, and lot it be remembered that tlio- part played by tlie secondary industries these days is ovon more- important than that of "the prim' | ary industries. Manufacturers have for long recognised tlie great advertising possibilities of the Show, and even this year there was healthy competition for the limited space that is available in the great halls of industry where the achievements of Australian workers are so fittingly displayed. But primarily the Sydney Show is an agricultural show bringing homo definitely and concisely to city folk the important part played by tho man on the land. Tho presence in Sydney of so many cattle seems at first a little incongruous, but it is remarkable the interest they attract among people who know so little of their breeding. The grand parado is still perpetuated at tho Sydney Show, and it is always one of the most attractive features. Tens of thousands crowd round the ring whilo the aristocrats are paraded, evincing the greatest interest in the much-decorated champions. All this would seem to give the lie direct to tho of (-repeated assertion that tho city has little interest in the country. Actually Sydney people have nothing but sympathy for the man who is struggling on the land. For instance, there has not been a word of protest against tho increase this'-week in the price of bread —an increase not warranted by the prico of wheat and flour, but imposed .solely for the purpose of assisting tho ncrdy farmer. Naturally the city wants to see the country return to tho boom d.'iyn, for boom days outback meant prosperity elscwhero. If Micro urn any city folk apt to forgot Ihc vast possibilities of the country, then tho Royal Show provides thorn with all tho reminders they need. People who attend the show always get their moneys worth, for it is the Eirnlrst of its kind in the world. This year it is as good .as ever.