Migrant families lap up Tauranga A&P Show

Freckles the calf stole the hearts of girls from two South African migrant families who got their first taste yesterday of a New Zealand cultural institution.

The girls and their parents were among the thousands who rolled up to enjoy the Tauranga A&P Show at the racecourse - the day when the country came to town.

It was a memorable occasion for the Britz and Scott families who came from the same neighbourhood of Johannesburg but amazingly had not met each other until they were introduced at a Tauranga church last May.

''We moved 18,000km to find out we were neighbours,'' one of the mums Rosie Britz said.

Britz said she really enjoyed the A&P show. ''It's awesome, it's a little bit of everything.''

The girls were particularly taken with Freckles, a yellow ribbon winner owned by Morrinsville dairy farming family the Scherers who were staunch supporters of the show circuit.

Annabelle Scherer said the calf, whose pedigree name was Charbelle Brew Freckle, had a lovely nature.

''The show girls become part of the family. Our kids have their special calves.''

Scherer said Tauranga was a nice little show that she liked to support. She enjoyed seeing children pat the calves and did not want A&P Shows to die out.

Tauranga A&P Show president Peter Harricks said A&P Shows had declined and bottomed out around New Zealand, and were now on the up cycle.

However, finding volunteers remained a problem for Tauranga. It did not mean they had to attend meetings every month, just do a job at the show.

''The A&P Show is in good heart but we always need volunteers.''

Royal Agricultural Society president Geoff Smith said A&P shows were a unique platform to heal the rural/urban fault line in New Zealand.

He said more kids than ever in New Zealand did not know that milk came from cows.

Another problem was that New Zealand had lost 6000ha of good farming land to urban development. People needed to understand the relationship between agriculture and being able to feed the community.

''A&P shows help educate people about the significance of agriculture.''

Highlights of Tauranga's A&P Show
- Tauranga Western Riders' cowboy challenge
- Two French sheep shearers competing against New Zealand's best
- Wood chopping and strongest man events
- Pony rides and petting zoo