FINE RECORD OF SUCCESSES

Southland Times, Issue 23379, 10 December 1937, Page 11

FINE RECORD OF SUCCESSES

Breeding Activities Of

District EXHIBITS OF HIGH STANDARD EXPECTED During more than 60 years the Wyndham Agricultural and Pastoral Society has established itself firmly in popular favour and it has a good record of successes for its annual shows. The fifty-eighth fixture, which will be held tomorrow, has a happy augury in the series of successes in other Southland districts this season and an outstanding exhibition is expected. The entries are very satisfactory and the good condition of most classes of stock this season should ensure that the quality of the exhibits is at least as high as usual. The Wyndham Society presents one of the best-balanced shows of the smaller centres in Otago and Southland and it is usually a true reflection of the stock-raising activities of the district. Sheep, cattle and horse breeding are carried on with an enthusiasm not found in less fertile areas and the breeders have enjoyed a great measure of success for many years.

WYNDHAM SHOW HISTORY

SIXTY YEARS SINCE FIRST FIXTURE RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY DAYS It is .more than 60 years since the first agricultural and pastoral show was held in Wyndham and the society was earlier in the field than the Gore Association which followed a few years later. There is some dispute as to the year in which the first Wyndham show was held, but it is generally believed to have been in 1874 or 1875. The society is, therefore, in about its sixty-third year, although only 57 shows have been held, a lapse in interest a few years after its beginning interrupting the continuity of fixtures. For the first show, Mr James Milne was president and Mr Harry Robson secretary. Notable pioneers of the Wyndham district comprised the first committee and the show was of a very different character from'modern exhibitions. There were no registered stock in the district in the early years and the only cattle to be found there were Ayrshires and Shorthorns, the Friesian and Jersey breeds not having become popular at that stage. It was not until the establishment of the Wyndham dairy factory a few years after the A. and P. Society was formed that dairying became popular in the district and the period of half a century has seen the development of some of the best studs of dairy cattle of all breeds in the province in the Wyndham district.

Light horses were a prominent feature of the early shows and the district settlers proudly entered the spanking turnouts in which they drove to the show. With the development of motor transport, the entries in these classes declined, but in recent years there has been a revival of interest in light horse breeding with the result that this section has been built up to a high standard again. The society was not a strong organization in its initial stages and the show was purely a local competitive effort. It continued in this form for several years and served as the occasion for a

local picnic and meeting of district residents until the residents of Mataura began to take a keen interest in its welfare and expressed a desire to form an organization representative of the two districts, the show to be held at each centre alternately. This arrangement was agreed to and the first combined show was held at Mataura in 1877. The next year the fixture was held on the present site. A few years after the inauguration of the combined show, the Gore Agricultural and Pastoral Association was formed and the Mataura residents promptly turned their allegiance to the nearer organization and no further combined Wynd-ham-Mataura shows were held.

The Wyndham show was not always favoured with a full measure of public

support such as it has received in recent years. After its first few years, enthusiasm in the show dwindled and the fixture was dropped for a few years until it was revived, and enjoyed renewed and increasing vigour. So great was its progress that the original five acres of land became quite inadequate for the show nearly 30 years ago and a move was made to the Wyndham racecourse. The facilities there were not entirely suitable for the purpose and after much consideration the society decided to acquire an additional five acres next to its original site.