FRANKLIN A. & P. SOCIETY

Franklin Times, Volume XXV, Issue 16, 8 February 1935, Page 5

FRANKLIN A. & P. SOCIETY

Thu existence of all Idlings depends largely upon the solidity of the foundations laid at the beginning; There are cases,■ of course, where the base has been all that could he desired and tlie structure, or organisation, has crumbled through faulty construction

or mismanagement. The latter, -however, docs not apply to the Franklin Agricultural and Pastoral Society which next week celebrates its golrjfen jubilee, the fiftieth anniversary of its constitution. The Mid-Eighties. Away back in .the mid-eighties, toward the end ol' 1885 to be precise,, a few of the rnen about the village of Pukekohe, afterwards to becomo the geographic and economic centre of the sunshine and fertile county of Franklin, were imbued with the happy idea of conducting an agricultural and pastoral show. One can imagine bow those who originated the proposal, •conveyed their thoughts to others .likely to be interested. Most of us were not born then, but we can picture those old pioneers talking the matter over at the monthly sale, in the village store, at the post office and at the place where the old folks like to renew acquaintances. Yes, many of them, liked ..their weekly glass of ale 50 years ago. The idea was accepted favourably among businessmen and farmers, and it was agreed at length to put the proposal into concrete shape, and a meeting of all interested was called. The Pukekohe Hotel, nowone of the most Historic buildings in King street, was the venue of the first meeting, at which it was decided to form a South. Franklin A. and P. Society and to hold a show at the earliest possible date. A record of the proceedings of the inaugural meeting cannot be located, but the oldest minute book reveals that the secretary had good intentions, for he made preparation for including the minutes in the hook, as several blank pages remain to this day. between the cover and the first record of the society’s transactions. The first minutes arn tftbse of a meeting of the committee held in tlffi hotel on 'Monday, "March ' i, 1886, when there were present: Messrs Charles Shipherd (president.), John Johns, W. Sharß, W. Roulston, M. 'Routley; .W. G. G. Watson, J. McDonald, Caleb Hosking and the. secretary (Mr 'F. C. Thomas). Minutes of subsequent proceedings show that Mr James Roulston and Mr R. Proude were the vice-presidents, and that Major Harris, •Messrs Hey wood Crisps. J. Gallaghdr, G. Watson, T. G. fisher. R. F. : Webster, J. Collins (Tuakau).

Mayo and McElroy were also members of the committee and Messrs Beloe arid Allen were' 'auditors. These 'minutes'do not convoy very much excepting'that a-'show .was to he held -shortly. ‘.The/big event was duly held - op '. Thursday;' April 29/' 1.886, in Mr .T.

~: ; :: "Roulston’s ‘paddock which extended & frbm the police stallion in Manukau • V road and was hounded by Harris street, ' Edinburgh- •••street and King .street.' ■Routs ton street., Massey avenue arid Grab am street, were unheard of at that time.. This property was then known locally as the racecourse, and the story goes that many a great day was spent, there among gallopers. The first ..• show, it is stated, was attended by • ;7 . approximately 700 —a big crowd *SO years ago—and under adverse climatic conditions. T.s it any wonder then that, the Franklin A^_ and P. Society : has been dogged by so much misfortune in respect to wet, weather in its ySO years’ existence. The succeeding generation is. truly following in fatb- . er’s footsteps, for Franklin has had more than its share of wet show days, ■'it. is the sincere wish of-all that his•tory will not repeat itself next week, although one : fact is worthy of note, and it is that a feature of the in- ■ augural show was the exhibition of pigs which, it is said, -surpassed any- « fthing previously seen in the- province. History bids fair to repeat itself next ' week ns the entry of pigs constitutes a record for the. society, it being double .what it was a year ago. This is indeed somewhat of a coincidence. -It Creditable Display. The report of the first, show which appeared in the New Zealand Herald on the following day, Friday, refers to the unfavourable weather. Tt gives •exhibitors praise for staging exhibits ysticb were highly creditable to the ■district, and further- eulogises those responsible for the arrangements which were as good as could be made under the,..circumstances. A oom- ' mentary then follows on the various sections. It, appears that competition in bloodstock was limited, but that quality was excellent, the prize-takers hein" Mr T).'Fullerton’s Ariel and Mr j. Roulston’s Winnie. • Tim class for draught entries .was poor and the , quality inferior, but the class - fraught mares .Drought out tm ent was difficult to beat. • P J

GOLDEN JUBILEE YEAR. FIRST SHOW APRIL 29, 1886. HALF-CENTURY OF PROGRESS. BUILT ON SOLID FOUNDATION.

pukekohe Produces Own Flour. praise is given Mr 1L Proude’s stock, they being worthy representatives of Hippocampus, from the Fisherman breed. The competition among farm horses was good and that for hacks and other horses only fair. Cattle, ! it is reported, did not reach the pitch of perfection to he expected from I South Franklin. Mr F. L. Wright’s | Alderneys (now Jerseys) made a good showing, but he was the only exhibitor in this section. Sheep ex Dibits w r ere good hut not numerous. Tlie report states that the quality of pigs, in tiie judge's opinion, was superior lo I hat seen at the Auckland show held at Greenlane. Poultry, dogs and produce were also exhibited, but surprise was expressed at the limbed competition. Duality, however, appears lo have been of the best. Prizes for home-made bread were won by Mrs F. Stanley from flour grown and milled locally, while that for baker’s bread was won by Mr R. Maxwell, who is still living, from halflocally grown flour and half imported. “Mr Pilgrim,’’ stales the report, “who lias been established in the district for five years, may claim for himself and the district a great triumph an the result of the awards.” Mr Pilgrim, it is understood, owned and operated a flour mill in the vicinity of Hickey's dam, near the corner where Seddon-Edinburgh street, Cape Hill and Paerata roads meet. Another first prize winner was Mr TI. Dell, who took the honours for a 2-1 inch pipe collar.

The Spirit of the Pioneers.

From all accounts the first show was an unqualified success, and gave encouragement to the promoters to “go ahead." That indomitable spirit inherent in the pioneers, plus the success of the first show, spurred them on to greater efforts, and from that historic April 29, 1886, the society has made phenomenal progress, despite many crushing setbacks. As was to be expected the accommodation for the inaugural show was primitive, but the pioneers brought up

under‘difficult conditions knew how to surmount difficulties. The saleyards a I ,l,he back of Ihc hotel held the slock, while a large marquee housed the produce, the saddlery being exhibited in the Racing Club’s shed situated on the property. The ring was situated toward I lie bottom of Roulston street, just about- where the Orange hall now stands.

The inaugural show over, the members were not content with resting on I heir laurels.

The first annual meeting of the society was held on July 5, 1886, and the minutes say there was a good attendance. The following officers were elected': President, Mr Clias Shipherd: vice-presidents, Messrs J. Roulston and R. Proude; treasurer, Mr R. F. .Webster; secretary, Mr F. C. Thomas: committee. , Major Harris, Messrs J. Johns, .T. TT. Wright, senr.. ,T. McNeish, W. Robinson, W. Sharp, J. Collins. Jas. McDonald, John Comrie. W. G. G. Watson. Jas. . Harris. Jas. Motion, .T. Allen, Caleb Hosking, C. T. Barriball, Hey wood Crispe, Jas. Gallagher, John Brown, W. L. Beloe, Geo. Ballard and J. G. Rutherford. The

secretary was voted £0 fis for services rendered in connection with the show, and the committee was thanked on the motion of Mr Pilgrim, for the able manner, in which it had conducted the show. Members were somewhat liberal in their donations of prizemoney. for several made cash donations ranging from £l. Is to £lO. The latter comprised two prizes, each of £5, donated by Mr D. Fullerton ot Titi farm, for the winners of classes for- foals sired by bis entire, Ariel, at the next show. A Solid Foundation. If was evident that Mr Shiplierd and his stalwarts had, unconsciously, well and truly laid the foundations for the future of a society which was l - make history and incidentally progress. The first event was a great success and the executive was now confronted-with the task of setting a course ahead—a clear cut policy.- Economy was evidently the keynote and members kept a firm finger on the finances. At the, following annual meeting the question of the secretary’s honorarium was discussed and cm the casting vote of the vresident (Mr Shipherd) if was raised to £lO. Later it rose to £ls 15s to £25, to £SO and then to £l5O, about 25 years ago when a full-time secretary was appointed. Of recent years the salary had been as much as £3OO per annum, such being the growth >’ the society.

The records of the activities of the society during the first year or- two are not very complete, hut in 1888 the records show that, there were 50 members against 81 In 1887. Entries in were MO, four more than fQ«7. pros-reoa continued and by

Membership and Entries. j ,s:m ihe entries had reached 607 which was a record at that time. Th& membership steadily increased and was in the vicinity of 100. It is interesting to record that there were 311 entries l'or the first show and last year approximately 2700, which is the record. The membership at present is in the vicinity of 850.

in ihe early part of this century progress being along sound lines, and the finances in a buoyant state, it was decided to launch out on an ambitious scale, and after lengthy negotiations the society purchased a ground of its own. The property, bounded by Hall street north, Edinburgh street and Lodge street was purchased from Mr F. M. Ilewson for about £BOO. For many years it served its purpose and the land increased in value. The area be--' came too congested and as the shows increased in popularity, it was decided that if the society desired to expand ils operations a larger showground was necessary, hence ihe decision to purchase the present site, and the first show on the new property was held in February, 1915. The showground was opened by the late Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey, and his younger daughter cut the ribbon. The president at that time was Mr D. H. Hamilton. During the war period it was extremely difficult to make much headway, while adverse weather on many show days affected the society’s finances and hampered its activities. Despite encountering these vicissitudes definite progress was made, the property improved and to-day Franklin can lay claim to possessing one of the best country showgrounds in New Zealand. Its value from a show point of view, is enhanced by its natural grandstand —the hill on the northern side. For several years winter shows were conducted but while they were a success socially there was a suspicion that for the amount of work entailed the financial result was not satisfactory and the venture was finally dropped. The recent activities of the society are so well known that it is unnecessary to make reference'io them. But the success of the society is due to the well-defined policy laid by the pioneers 50 years ago. They encountered difficulties just, as the society meets with troubles to-day, and if history j repeats itself they will he surmount- 1 ed.

Past Presidents. Following is a list of the past-pre-sidents of the society, and the years in which they held office: — Clias. Shipherd. 1886-7-8, 1593-. 190 T. ,1. G. Rutherford. 1889-90, 1900. _ G. Russell, 1891-2. C. T. Barriball. 1891-5-6. \V. Sharp, 1897-8. Geo. Ballard, 1899. 1903-1-5. A. J. Lawrie, 1902. Mas. Roulston, 1906-7. * John Schlaepfer, 1908-9. - .las. Potter. -1910-1 *AV. J. Rutherford, 1912. *j. Wylie, 1913-14 . *D. R. Hamilton, 1915-16. *G. K. Lawrie. 1917. —-Dynes Fulton, 1918-19. M. N. Massey, 1920-21. *A. P. Daysh, 1922-23. *C. F. Shipherd, 1924-5. *W. .T. A. Moore, 1926-27. *E. Allan. 1928-29. *.T, Pollock, 1939-31. *R. G. Clark. M.A., 1932-33. > Mr A. Rest holds the office at present, ' "Signifies still living. ( Past Secretaries. Following is a list of the past secretaries in the order in- which they held the reins of office: F. G. Thomas, J. Chadwick. R. F. Webster, F. M. Hewson. T. G. Usher, .T. Patterson. .T. W. Baxter, D. B. Hamilton. H. E. liiss-

ling. Mr G. R. Basham is the present secretary. Messrs Chadwick. Webster. Tlewson and Usher have passed on.

The Original Members. In 11 1 e early flays of the society there was spirited competition for the office of secretary, who was then elected al Hie annual meeting. For the first few years the records show that there was a ballot on each occasion. For the last 25 years I his officer has been permanent. As far as can be gathered from the records available, the following were members at the annual meeting in 1887: Messrs John Johns, T. G. Usher. A. Jamieson, E. Bilkey, H. Routley, J. Schlaepfer, Greenlees, W. Bayly, R. G. Taylor, .T. H. Wright, AY. Goldsworthy. T. Wilkinson. It. Berber. .1. Gallagher, Chas. Shipherd, Dr. Rowley, E. Mackay. G. Beil. R. S. Whit .-. R. .Proude. .T. Smith. .T. Golding, P. NYalslr. T. Hogan, G. Ballard. W. F. Buckland, T. Pollock. .1. Saunderson. M. Martin. TT. E. R. L. Wily. A. Cranslon. F. La wry. IT. Hill. .T. Pliilson. W. Slaines. senr.. W. Hollywood, .inr.. I Clarke. W. Glasgow. .1. Rogers. G. Russell. A. Buckland. L. S, Crawford. Lyon. Wren, damn. J. Reynolds. T. Adams, Park. .T. Andrews. F. Kavanagh. W. Sharp. .T. Gath cart, W. G. G.

Watson. Tf. Dell. .T. TT. Wright. Major Harris. A. McDonald. .T. McDonald. D. Fullerton. ,T. Potter. Murchison. M. Routley. T. Hamilton. C. T. Barriball, J. Collins. J. Watson. .T. Gallagher. J. Goultas, J. Hillman. W. L. Beloe. R. F. Webster. J. Roulston. senr.. W. Roulston, W; Maxwell. .T. Chadwick.

.T. G. Rutherford. J. McNeish. .T. Motion. Comrie (4). no initials are given, but later records show two of them to have been John A and .Tames. R. Latimer. Jas. Latimer. Heywood Crispe. Mayo. Caleb Hosking and McElroy. Tf, is known that the following are still living: Messrs. ..T. Schlaepfer (Paerata). TT. Dell (Pukekohe). W. Glasgow (Tuakau)Hi :E. »R. L. Wily (Mauku). AV. Roulston (Herne Bay). .T. A. Comrfe (Epsom), Jas. Comrie (Karaka), F. C, Thomas (Papqtoetoe) and Dr. Rowley (6, Orakau, Avenue. Epsom).

Exhibitors at First Show. Exhibitors at the first show, who are still living are: Mr J. Comrie, Mr H. Dell. ATr TT. Wilson (blacksmith. Papakura). ATr D. Blake (Alanukau road, Pukekohe), Afr R. Maxwell (West street.’ Pukbkohe) and Dr. i. Dalziel (Hall street. Pukekohe). Mr Comrie was awarded special and class

first prizes in the horse and sheep sections. Mr Dell first in the saddlery. Air Wilson and Mr ,Blake, implements. Afr Alaxwell. bread, while Dr. Dalziel exhibited •••in the horse: section, and was awarded prizes;, in the apiary 7 section. Remains of the First Committee. A glance through the catalogue of the first annual show reveals that, of the personnel of the executive only two —the. secretary, Afr F. C. Thomas, and Afr W. Roulston are alive. Two-Day Shows.

In the early.part of the present century, it was decided to hold a twoday show instead of a one-day fixture, the former proving necessary in .view of the comprehensive programme arranged and the two-days’ show proved highly populary.

There can he no denying the .•-facl. that the A. and P. Society has nobly played its part in assisting to develop the Franklin district. No other organisation has done as much to place Franklin on the map.

While there is still much to he said for the value of shows socially at the present time, one must not forget (hat

IT.pni 1920 backwards, the annual show in Pukekohe was regarded as the meet in g ground of the settlers. Once a year they would meet on common soil, renew'acquaintances. talk of liap- - penings of the past and depart satisfied with having had a great day. in those days it was not unusual for people to ride on horseback, drive !n gigs', waggons and “brakes" for hours and

cover long distances to be present at the show. They could not resist the lure of the showground. For them if. was the day of days.