OPENING CEREMONY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 5 July 1921, Page 7

OPENING CEREMONY.

There was a' large gathering of the public when the official opening of the show took place this afternoon. The president of the Show (Mr. D. J. Goodwin) introduced the Minister of Education (the Hon. C. J. Parr), who was attended by Messrs E. Dixoh and. O. J. Hawken, M.P.'s. Apolog.es from Messrs S. 'G. Smith and R. Masters, M.P.'s, were received. - : Before Mr^ Parr- was called" on to speak, Mr. l)jxon briefly referred to the great success of. the Dominion Show above other shows, which reflected great credit upon the promoters. The Hon. C. J. Parr, in his address referred to the general prosperity of. the district and its fine roads. He was specially pleased with, the school exhibits, which were a great credit' to the district, especially: the -roots exhibit. He spoke of the benefits from the competition among exhibitors, and showed that by influencing "the children's minds in the direction of our primary industries this was the best way to check the tendency of pj&ople in the future flocking to live in the cities. Mr. Parr humorously said that the weather.was so beautiful that he felt he was opening the summer rather than the winter show.; He then declared the Show open. SCHOOL DISTRICT BAYS. .

. The three school district bays are a revelation in the posibilitiea of Taranaki soil, an& fewv would suspect that in a; fairly rigpyous.cEmat^ guch''awide range of hign^lass products could be obtained. Each of the bays is so good that if seems a pity they could not have received equal distinction in the prize-list. Such vast collections could only have been got together as a result of much patience and exertion on the part of many people, and only a careful and methodical search of the districts could have brought to light some of the exhibits,. The Tokaora district secured the first prifce, its main advantage o»er the other districts being in arrangement. The exhibits almost defy enumeration, and included dairy produce, vegetables, roots, preserves,, honey, cereals, grass and other seeds, fruit (including oranges), and, in fact, all that it is possible to produce on a farm.- In the centre of the winning bay was a palatable looking salad. Large roots occupied a place along the base, and the majority of the exhibits were displayed under an excellent system of grouping and with proper regard to relationship and appearance. Grasses and cereals were shown on large cards with coloured backgrounds. Native and other shrubs, selected with a view to producing the best effect, were used for deVx>rative purposes, and here again the Tokaora people scored easily over their opponents.' Surrounding all was a model haystack. The Ohangai district's exhibit was scarcely inferior to that which gained first honours, and with a little rearrangement might have won the highest place. They had the goods, but they seemed to be overcrowded. For detail and comprehensiveness Ohangai could hardly be excelled, and it fully deserved all the admiration bestowed upon it. Okaiawa was the other competitor and it received quite as much attention as the other two. The iManaia school showed a very good collection of roots and vegetables. It is not' too much to say that the bays, which were more in keeping with the purposes of the show, were the most" admirable feature of the who'e exhibition. They spoke of industry and production, which are regarded as of cardinal importance to-day.