Shears can't be chopped

I can testify to the importance of the Golden Shears to Masterton. MASTERTON must remain the home of the Golden Shears, and that is must with a capital M.

This iconic event has been held here ever since it was inaugurated in 1960 and it would be an absolute travesty to have it moved elsewhere.

Yes, there are question marks existing over the state of the regular venue, the War Memorial Stadium.

The chances are that some work will have to be done there to make it more earthquake proof than what it is now.

But the person who phoned me this week to say the Masterton District Council had already decided to put that work on the back burner was talking through his ... well, let's say that, since this is a family newspaper.

The plain truth is that any Masterton district councillor worth his (or her) salt would move heaven and earth to ensure everything possible was done to keep the Golden Shears in their own backyard ... and you can take it from me they will.

Yours truly is one who can testify to the importance of the Golden Shears to the Masterton district from a personal viewpoint.

When I was first invited to take up a job here over 30 years ago I was living in Gore, way down in the deep south.

Gore is not only famous for people who roll their rrrrs. In those days it had Sergeant Dan the Creamoata Man, fabulous trout fishing on the Mataura River, the country's premier country and western show, the Gold Guitar, and a shearing competition we were prepared to accept was the second best in the country, the Southern Shears.

That latter point is telling because Mainlanders generally don't concede they are second to anything when it comes to comparisons with "those plonkers from up north" but shearing was an exception.

So when they are prepared to admit that Masterton's Golden Shears is number one you know it must be something special. Which it is and always will be.

Gary Caffell is a Masterton district councillor.