Possibly the oldest in New Zealand, Woodville’s 140th Horticultural and Industrial Show celebrated all that is good in the Tararua District.
The show combined the efforts of cooks and crafters, gardeners and designers, visitors and volunteers for the pleasure of the public.
Opening the prizegiving, society president Kevin Eade said the show has almost become the longest-running in New Zealand. He acknowledges the Mountfort family and Ralph, who took over the show from his dad, who died recently.
He recalled that in one year the flowers ready for the show the next day were eaten by an invasion of possums.
The display of flowers was spectacular although the seasons played a part. Champion dahlia grower Antoinette Lambert said in Eketāhuna they have had to endure too much rain, now too much dryness and in between two frosts – in February.
Nevertheless, the dahlia blooms were wonderful, the begonias were startling in their colours and somehow gladiolis had survived long enough to look pretty good but there was not a rose in sight.
Vegetables were seemingly unaffected by weather some very good pumpkins, potatoes, rhubarb and tomatoes making a good display.
Crafts unaffected by the weather, unless you count cold nights by a warm fire, included knitted items especially for the young, looking ready for the next winter.
Motivation and encouragement from Woodville School caused an avalanche of entries ranging from cakes to designs using recycled materials. The biggest delight was the smiles on the faces of the children.