The Hawera Star. MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 1927. A. AND P. SHOWGROUNDS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 1 August 1927, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 1927. A. AND P. SHOWGROUNDS.

Delivered every evening by 5 o’clock in Hawera. Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Bitham, Mangatoki, Kaponga. Alton, ITurleyville. Patea. tVaverley, Mokoia, Whakamara, Ohangai, Meremere, Fraser Boad and Ararata.

It is little over two months ago since the Egmont Agricultural and Pastoral Association hold its annual meeting, at which it was made very evident that unless something were done, and done quickly, to place the finances of the Association on a better footing, South Taran'aki was going to lose its show and the town of Hawera was going to lose the only open space it lias suitable to the holding of big outdoor gatherings. There -was nothing new about the position —it had been developing for several years —but when brought face to face with the prospect of losing the fine asset it possesses in the A. and P. Association and all that would be lost with it, the interest of public-spirited citizens was aroused. This interest was first made manifest in letters to “The Star,” several correspondents demonstrating that, though it was recognised that, the running of an agricultural show was the business of the organisation established for that purpose, there existed a very earnest desire that the association should not be allowed to go out of existence if there was anything that could be done to save it by the general body of the public and by individuals who ordinarily would not be concerned with the affairs of the association. It was in this spirit of helpfulness and desire to protect community interests that most of the letters were written, and a similar spirit actuated the members of the Ilawera Rotary Club when they proffered their services to the association in devising ways and means of overcoming the financial difficulties that are so heavily besetting that body. The result of the collaboration between the two bodies is the scheme outlined to members of the general committee of the association on Saturday, a scheme which incorporates a. proposal to ask the County and the Borough jointly to take over the grounds, which will be soon lost to the association unless some other means of raising the large sum of £1.1,000 is found quickly. By its adoption both town and country are going to benefit, the former through the retention of the only grounds within the borough suitable to the holding of sports meetings and other large organised outdoor gatherings, and the latter through the relieving of the. association of the burden which threatens to crush it out- of existence and the securing to it for all time a site for the annual show. At first, glance there appears to be one obvious objection to the adoption of this course. The thought naturally occurs to the mind of the average rate-

payer tliat tlie sliow authorities, having failed to make a Jiuaiieial success of their undertaking, now wish to throw their responsibilities upon the ratepayers who have had no voice in the conduct of the shows in the past and therefore have no duty to perform in ihelpin the association out of its difficulties. And if that were all there were to it, such an objection would be perfectly sound. We are not among those who believe j that every community service •which everybody considers desirable, but which nobody is willing to pay for, should bo made a charge upon the rates. There should be well-defined limits to municipal enterprise —they are being exceeded already in this country —but the scheme which has been put forward for the approval of the general body of members of the association, and which will probably later come before the ratepayers for their sanction, cannot be turned down on the grounds that it is an unwarrantable attempt to shift the responsibilities of the association on to the shoulders of the ratepayers, or that it is asking the borough and the county to enter upon an undertaking that properly belongs to private enterprise. The scheme is. certain to be viewed with a certain amount of suspicion at first by some ratepayers, and the promoters will have to be prepared to face a certain amount of opposition in the first place, but that should not deter them from throwing themselves into the task with all the enthusiasm with -which they have attacked it up to date. The special committee very ably brought out the reasons why the scheme should be accorded support in the report which it presented on Saturday. These may be amplified and dealt with in detail later,- but at present- it should be sufficient to assist the ratepayers to come to a reasonable conclusion and destroy any’ suspicions which the scheme may at first raise in their minds if they keep a few ideas before them: First, for the country ratepayer, is it desirable from the point- of view of the farmer that South Taranaki should maintain an annual agricultural and pastoral show? If the answer is in the affirmative, then the next point to consider is, is it worth paying a small rate —less than 6/8 in the £IOOO of unimproved value —to secure a site for a show? Ample space, wdthin reasonable distance, is essential to the holding of such a. fixture, and it is not going to help the position to make speeches about the value of the show to the community and to farming generally if there is no place in the district to hold it. If these grounds are lost, how are they going to be replaced? Secondly, to meet his own objections, the -town dweller might profitably ask himself, will it mean anything to him, and the town in which he has a stake, if it loses status as a centre of a closely settled farming district holding a two-days’ show each year, besides being the natural gathering place for the 'whole of a populous district on such occasions as those provided by important athletic events? There are some traders w r ho will declare that the attraction of a few thousand people to the town to attend a football match does not increase the turnover in their business. While that may be true in some cases, it is certainly not. true in all, and the fact that additional money is brought into the town, even though none of it is actually spent with him, should mean something to that class of objector. And wo believe that he and the great majority of all ratepayers will see the significance of .such a loss in status which the town would suffer if it experienced the indignity of falling into the position of a centre -which could not maintain an agricultural show, nor provide the facilities for the holding of large assemblies of sport-loving people which the public has a right to expect.