TUESDAY, NOVEMBER. 7, 1933. EGMONT JUBILEE A. & P. SHOW.

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 7 November 1933, Page 4

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER. 7, 1933. EGMONT JUBILEE A. & P. SHOW.

The Jubilee A. and P. Show, which opens to-morrow; will be the last ontsti nding event in the first half-century of a local institution which has’ a very strong hold upon the goodwill, and even the affections, of the people of South Taranaki. Some of the reasons for the popularity of the annual show are selfevident to everyone who has been a unit of a show day throng; but there are other and deeper reasons why this show has a special place in the regard of old residents of Hawera and district, as the Jubilee Show pages of this issue reveal. The show goes back very nearly to the beginning, of things for this community; pioneer residents and members of their families have seen it grow from a settlers’ picnic. It would never have come into existence without the sacrifice and enthusiasm of the ! early settlers. In the days when the land was being brought into cultivation from its native state, there was little time for relaxation, but once the idea of a show had taken root, it was enthusiastically maintained and developed. In short, it grew up out of the labours of a pioneer community, and as the productivity and population of the district increased, so did the show grow in size and importance. To the outside public the Egmont Show is one of a chain of such fixtures held throughout the Dominion, but to the people of South Taranaki it is an annual reminder of the successful striving of the pioneers towards improvement. Under the circumstances, it is not. a matter for wonder that there exists a sentimental attachment on the part of the people for the show. The Egmont A. and P. Association has excellent reasons for facing the ■second half-century with confidence. Like other similar organisations in the Dominion, the Association has had its financial difficulties, but no- A. and P. Association in the country enjoys better prospects for the future. The economic depression, and its effect upon spending powder, took its toll upon show income here, as elsewhere; but, in addition, the Egmont Association has for some years been labouring under a debt

burden, with interest, commitments that were making a heavy drain upon | its resources. Indeed, had it not been | for the generosity and hard work of j individual members, the Association might have foundered during those years when the slump was at its worst. The outlook has been entirely changed, however, as a result of an arrangement that has been made with the holder of the mortgage on the Association’s land. Under this arrangement a £IO,OOO liability may be reduced to £2OOO if the Association can raise £3OOO by public subscription, or it may be wiped off completely if donations amounting to £SOOO be received. A campaign to this end has been under way for some months and to-day the publicly subscribed fund stands at £2BOO and' is growing daily. It is already apparent that the first objective of the campaign—the raising of £3OOO —'Will be attained and the Association thus assured of the -security of its showgrounds and appointments. The Egmont Association has thus the very best of reasons for facing the future with confidence. Not only has it'made, a* ' satisfactory rearrangement of ' its finance, but it. has been given conclusive proof that it is the desire of the people of the district that it should continue to function. By the wonderful generosity of donors and the selfsacrificing work of those who set themselves to the task of collecting this money, the Association has been assured that, it enjoys widespread support in town and country of the most worthwhile nature —the class of support that is forthcoming when the need is greatest and the difficulties most, real. With its first fifty years, with their experience and lessons, behind it, the Egmont A. and P. Association is able now to give its whole energy to making a success of its Jubilee Show before entering upon its second halfcentury, secure in the knowledge that it has public support in carrying out its duties as custodian- and administrator of a public institution. The good wishes for the success of the fixture which are extended by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture in special messages to the “Hawera Star” find an echo in every part of South Taranaki and particularly in the town of Hawera.