It was the ultimate showcase,
Of all 150
of those years.
Where country comes to town,
For celebration, unity and beers.
The weather was exceptional,
The crowds were record highs.
Optimism was prevalent,
With primary produce on the rise.
Every rural aspect,
A huge diverse array.
Was showcased to perfection,
In a carnival atmosphere way.
The best show in the country,
A claim I make no less.
I heard it from many sources,
With authority to confess.
A credit to Patrick Sherriff,
The committee and their teams.
All done as volunteers,
Almost unheard of these days it seems.
And therein lies the message,
That as rural New Zealand we share.
The proven historic unity,
That as a community we better fare.
People on the land,
Not foreign carbon trees.
Will keep traditions alive,
And fiscal imbalance will appease.
Jamie, you like Christopher Luxon,
And a number of his team.
Experienced in person yourself,
What in Poverty Bay we call the dream.
We’ve done it against all odds,
You saw the passion and the mood.
You met some of the world’s best producers,
Of undoubtedly the world’s best food.
It’s incumbent on you Jamie,
To fight to save our farming land.
As national wealth and food production,
Will always go hand in hand.
Christopher Luxon admitted this,
As well as the best Agricultural Rural Host in his view.
I thought I wasn’t hearing right Jamie,
When Christopher said it wasn’t you!
A bloke called Andy Thompson,
Who lasted both days of the show.
Captured for posterity,
What the world it needs to know.
My plea then to the pair of you,
Seeing both of you were there.
Is to spread the word of rural New Zealand,
So in its wealth we all do share.
I’ll finish with a shout out,
To Patrick Sherriff and his crew.
Plus 150 years of volunteers,
And the voluntary work they do.
A special mention for Clarky,
A non-stop show within himself.
Epitomising in rural New Zealand,
That the people are its wealth.
