1940 STOCK SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 6, 7 July 1938, Page 11

1940 STOCK SHOW

WELLINGTON VENUE

HOME FOR ROYAL SOCIETY

SITE DIFFICULTY

The. possibility of holding a stock show at Wellington during the Centennial Exhibition, and of securing a permanent home at Wellington for the Royal Show was reported on by Mr. L. J. Wild (Feilding), president of the Royal Agricultural Society, at a meeting of the council of the society today. Opposition to the suggestion that the Royal Show should have a permanent home at Wellington was expressed by Mr. M. E. Lyons, New Zealand Sheep Breeders' Association representative, and secretary of,the Canterbury A. and P. Association. Mr. Wild said that a committee was set up to go into the question of finding a site in or near Wellington. The committee went to Trentham, having in*mind the site of the Wallaceville Animal Research Station near Trentham, which seemed entirely suitable. . The committee thought that the Government might be prepared to dispose of the site, and on February 28, 1938, Mr. Wild said he wrote to the DirectorGeneral of Agriculture (Mr. A. H. Cockayne) stating that it had been mention by Sir William Perry that the Department would consider transferring to the Royal Agricultural Society an area of land, approximately 104 acres in extent, adjacent to the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory and the Trentham Racecourse. -The letter continued: ."You are, I believe, well aware that ieading members of this society have, notwithstanding our present policy of a peripatetic show, always kept in view the centralisation of the Royal Society headquarters and of the Royal Show in or near Wellington as our ultilnate objective. Those of us who have inspected the site mentioned above are of. the opinion that it has much to commend it as a suitable place for development as a Royal Show ground and centre for stud "stock sales to be held in connection with the show." On March 8, Mr. Cockayne replied: ". . . I have to express regret that I have no knowledge of the area referred to, nor of a proposal to arrange a transfer of any of the land that forms part of the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory. Perhaps if you or one of your committee could furnish me with a plan of the area referred to it might be posisble to advise you of the owner thereof in order that you could enter into negotiations with him in the direction of acquiring it for the purpose your council has in mind." "PLAYING FOB TIME." Mr. Wild said that the reply to his letter was surprising, but he gathered that Mr. Cockayne had been playing for time. LETTER TO MAYOR. The Mayor of Wellington (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop) was apparently interested in the matter, and Mr. Wild said he wrote to Mr. Hislop on March 9> stating that at the last annual conference mention was made of the possibility of holding the Royal Show at or about the time of the Centennial Exhibition arid' on the site of the Exhibition or elsewhere near Wellington. "You are also aware," continued the letter, "that some responsible members of my council are anxious to explore fully the possibilities of a permanent show ground as a permanent home for an annual Royal Shoy in or near Wellington." Mr. Wild asked in the letter whether the Exhibition area was likely to be* available for the society's purposes after the Exhibition. "I know full well that it is not necessary for me to expatiate on the advantages to Wellington of having the Royal Show permanently located in or near the city," the letter concluded. On March 16 Mr. Hislop replied that he thought there was no possibility of the Exhibition site being used after the Exhibition as a permanent ground for the Royal Show. As matters stood at present, at the conclusion of the Exhibition the site would be cleared and the land made available for sports purposes or for the aerodrome, both of which would require the land to be clear of buildings. Mr. Hislop added that there were possibilities of other sites in the neighbourhood of Wellington, and he would be glad to ,discuss the matter with Mr. Wild. In the meantime, he was having the matter inquired into by the City Valuer. LAND FOR RESEARCH BUREAU. Commenting on the correspondence, Mr. Wild said that apparently there was no hope of .securing the Exhibition site either temporarily or permanently. As far as Mr. Cockayne's letter was concerned, the reason underlying the reply was the report of Dr. Hammond on the establishment of an animal research bureau, and Mr. Cockayne had felt he could not commit the Department of Agriculture till the Government had made a decision in regard to the future use of Wallaceville. If Dr. Hammond's report were adopted it would mean that the Wallaceville site was out of the question. STILL HOPE OF SITE. Sir William Perry, the chairman of the committee, said that the Miramar site would not be suitable, one reason being the difficulty of access. He and Sir William Hunt had examined every site between Wellington and Upper Hutt, and had found several sites, which, however, were in localities which would prove very expensive, the price of the land being crippling to the Royal Society. There was no question that Wallaceville was the ideal position, especially in view of the new Western Hutt road approach. The railway accommodation at Trentham was very extensive, and would meet all requirements. Sir William said Mr. Cockayne (who was at present in England) seemed quite willing to meet the society. The matter had never reached the stage when it could have been discussed with the Minister of Agriculture. In spite of Dr. Hammond's report, he did not think it would be impossible to secure a portion of the Wallaceville area. There! was quite a large area at the Wallace- i ville farm, and he thought the society should still exploit the matter. Speaking of a permanent home for the Royal Show, Sir William said that there was a feeling that the "Royal" would never be a great success till there was a central show, as in Australia. He did not think it wise, however, to launch out in -very heavy expenditure to establish a show that would be, to a certain extent, at the start, an experiment. He suggested that a committee be appointed to discuss the Wallaceville site with the Minister of Agriculture. IS DESIRE SINCERE? Mr. M. E. Lyons (Christchurch) said that first it ought to be determined whether there was any sincere desire on the part of the Royal Society to establish a permanent home. "As far as the South Island is concerned, it would mean definite disintegration of this organisation if any real settled

opinion is in the mind of the Royal Society," he said. Mr. Wild interrupted Mr. Lyons, remarking that at the moment there was no motion before the meeting. "I don't think what you are about to say is germane to the discussion," he said. "I brought the matter up as a report arising out of the minutes. I have made a report showing that it is not possible to hold a stock show at the place of the Exhibition. I am going to move that that report be adopted." Mr. Wild said he was not trying to stifle discussion as the matter would be brought up when the annual report -was considered. On the motion of Mr. Wild, seconded by Sir William Perry, the report was adopted. Mr. S. Austin Carr (Auckland): Should we consider whether the society should-" take part in the Centennial Exhibition at all Mr. Wild:. As far as I know a decision was arrived at last year. It was proposed that a stock show be held at the time, if not at the place, of the Centennial Exhibition. Mr. Carr: It was a stock show; I don't know whether it was a Royal Show. Mr. Wild: It was a stock show run by the Royal Society. . j j Mr. Wild further moved that a com-i mittee be set up to consider a stock! show at the time of the Exhibition.! "There was a committee," he explained Ito an inquirer, "and the meeting should have the right to say whether that committee should continue, or otherwise." His motion was carried.