SHOW OPENS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 1 July 1924, Page 11

SHOW OPENS

SPEECH BY HON; W. NOSWORTHY. LARGE CROWDS OF CITIZENS Fine weather favoured .the opening of the South Taranaki Winter Show this afternoon. A platform was erected in the Lloyd .George Hall, and before a large number of visitors the Show was formally declared open by tlie Hon. W. Noswcrthy, Minister of Agriculture. Mr J. R, Corrigan. M.P., chairman of the Winter Show Committee, introduced the Minister, and read a telegram f rain the Prime Minister apologising for his inability to be present owing to Parliamentary duties, but stating that lie was sending the; Hon. Mr Noswoithy to represent the Government. Mr Massey extended his best wishes for a- successful show.

Mr Corrigan said that 14 years ago a few enthusiasts in this district Had thqught that if there was any part or the Dominion which was capable of running a show it was .South Taranaki, and from’, that time tlie-show bad progressed. One of the reasons for the show being such ; a success- was the wealth, of the soil of the district. He. referred to the high land’ values obtaining recently,, but thought that, we. would soon be back on a sound basis. Mr .Corrigan- also: Stressed the necessity •for. 'the establishment of a - for scientific ireseareli m connection wit-ii the dairying idurtry. His Worship the Mayor (Mr L. A. Bone) extended to the. Minister a> liearty welcome to .the town. He referred to the value of: the dairying industry to the town;, and’touched on the importance of developing the scientific side of farming. Mr Collins, secretary of‘ the' Department 'of Industries and f Commerce; congratulated all concerned upon, a meritorious show. ; During his short stay in Hawera it had been made plain-to him. that South Taranaki people appreciated the efforts-; of' -the' Department oil- their behalf. ; Owing; to an unfortunate overlapping of show dates it had been impossible to secure the assistance at the show of the manufacturers of New Zealandj-jbiit .manufacturers were willing /to assist next year if they received’ the invitation. He referred to the growth of the secondary industries, dnd’Vuirged the necessity for developing the great natural resources of the Dominion'.

The Hon; W; Nosw'orthy said it- gave him pleasure to be present to:open the fifteenth Dominion. Dairy : Show, the history of which had been one of continued progress. He thought the displays; were indeed' a credit, and he made special; reference to the exhibit of the Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Clubs, stating how pleased he it as with the work done.

The Minister next ; referred to the Meat Control Board. the beneficial results of which were in evidence. The good work done by trie board in the marketing of New Zealand produce had begun to bear - fruit. Extensive reductions in freight and freezing charges had' been brought about, and although, perhaps, it could not be said that these vveke-entirely: due to the board's efforts, nevertheless an organisation such as the, board must of necessity Haim carried great weight. ■ 'The' Dairy Control- Board wafj yet in its infancy, but it must be noticed that Australian blitter and clieese producers were now turning their thoughts to following New Zealand’s example. In Australia they thought that if the two countries joined forces in the marketing of their produce they would wield a much greater power than they did at present. They find that the two countries supply almost half the butter marketed in - Great Britain. ‘‘Better Breeding and, better feeding” ivas the slogan used by the Minister for- urging production, and yet . more production Better feeding must come, by improvement of our pastures, which fact 1 ivas evident when it was realised tjlat 97 per cent, of the land in occupation in New Zealand was -at* present in grass. v '

. With, regard to deteriorating grass lands, which was a,problem of vital importance to, Taranaki, the Minister said that expert officers of his. 1 department were giving the matter the very closest attention at the' present time. The supply of superphosphate was also referred to. Air. Nosworthy said that none of f the finished article was being imported into New Zealand now, as it had been found that the rofk phosphate from Nauru could lie- ground and treated here very successfully. The manure was consequently down-to the "1914 price. The value, of New Zealand’s secondary industries was also stressed, their remarkable growth' being shown by the values of the output of goods from factories of all descriptions/ In 1901 the value of the output was £12,000 - 000; in 1923 it was £73,000,000. The amount'paid in wages ?, hacl also increased until to-day it/totalled £45,000 per day. * . '

Air. Nosworthy also had an important announcement to make with regard to the Australian embargo against New Zealand .potatoes. He said : “Official advice has been received from the Commonwealth GovernmexUi_jthat the total embargo against New Zealand potatoes has been lifted/ and that it has been decided to permit their importation under certain specified provisions as regards and methods) taf packing. While highly appreciating the lifting of the embargo, Jt is felt that one of these provisions is- more • drastic than is warranted by the actual conditions as regards disease in potatoes in the Dominion, and a communication has been sent to the authorities in Melbourne pointing this -out and asking ’that this particular point may be given reconsideration.”

The Alinister then formally declared the Show open

AFFORESTATION SHIELD. The Ohangai school was the winner, of the afforestation shield presented by Messrs. Geo. Syme and Co., Ltd. The points scored by the . various schools were as follows: A denotes seedling plants, B' notes on raising the plants, O notes .on growth and uses of six native timber trees, J> general display, E total.

GARDENS. Variety trial ivith mangolds—Ararata School 1, Okaiawa 2. Ngaere 3, Tokaora 4. • ‘ Collection of potatoes, named variSchool 1. .

School A B 0 D E Ohangai ....... .. 35 49 16 35 135 Ofcakeho .. 39 50 15 7 111 Waiau .. 40 22 17 31 110 Ararata .. 33 38 15 23 109 Ngaere .. 28 42 14 18 102 Okaiawa ...... .. 28 48 11 3 90 Fraser Road .. 33 35 8 13 89 Tokaora .. 30 25 12 8 TaHora .. 10 29 9 17 58