K.I. Show

It took a while to get organised - first there was the Show Committee, then in 1912 the K.I. Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Society was formed.

Kangaroo Island Courier (Kingscote, SA : 1907 - 1951), Saturday 10 November 1928, page 2

K.I.A. & H. SOCIETY.

THE 18th ANNUAL K.I. SHOW.

OFFICIALS.

President— Mr J. Turner. Vice-Presidents. — Messrs William Howard, V. H. F. Cook, B. Wheaton and R. W. Chapman. Secretary. — Mr F. E. Kasehagen. Assistant Secretary.— Mr W. W. Cook. Treasurer. — Mr C. E. Silvester. General Committee, — Messrs G. Barrett, R. J. Cook, H. Wiadrowski, W. L. Ayliffe, L. A. Marks, B. Govett, G. G. Ayliffe, G. A. Turner, H. Bald, B. Turner, P. Carlton, and E, C. Jenkins. Finance Committee. — Messrs J. Turner, R. W. Chapman, V. Cook, C. E. Silvester and F. E. Kasehagen. 

The annual show held at the Soldiers Memorial Park on Thursday November 1st. drew quite a number of visitors from the mainland. The Karatta arrived early and her passengers included Miss Sharman, Messrs E. Packham, D. C. Murray, P. T. Hockley and Goddard, all of whom assisted in judging the exhibits. On the Saturday prior to the show the Secretary Mr F. E. Kasehagen opened the office to the morning to enable the exhibitors to bring their entries in early. Unfortunately this was not taken advantage of and very few entries were received until after 5 p.m. and had the entry books been closed at the time mentioned in the catalogue, there would have been a very poor show. This should not be allowed to occur again, for it kept the Secretary and Mrs Kasehagen busy up to 11 o'clock. 

The Show was a great success there being record entries and a record membership. This has been accomplished owing to the energy and personality of the Secretary and the support afforded him by Mrs Kasehagen. The Pavilion was enlarged about three weeks before the show, but it was even then found to be too small, and the children's class for vegetables could not be properly staged. The grain in sheaf was this year, for the first time, placed outside the building. 

At 2.15 p.m. the Hon. G. R. Laffer at the request of the President (Mr John Turner) declared the show open. In doing so Mr Laffer paid a tribute to the secretary and Mrs Kasehagen for the work that they had accomplished. He remarked on the fine exhibits especially in the wool and grain in sheaf, he complimented the society in obtaining the services of judges from the mainland. He called for cheers for the President and Society and cheers were given for the Hon G. R. Laffar for coming to Kingscote and declaring the show open.

There were only moderate entries in the class, "Heroes in action" but a good deal of enjoyment was obtained from several sections. Good entries were received for sporting events such as tilting, rescue race etc. There were three entries in Section Fours. Musical chairs which was added to the programme this year, was a very popular item. The exhibit of grain in sheaf was an exceptionally fine one, and the judges (Messrs E. Packham and A. E. Willson) as well as many visitors from the mainland, stated that they had never seen a finer exhibit in any country show in this state. The champion sheaf came from the exhibit of Mr Geo. Barrett. Mr H. Cook won the cups donated by Messrs H. V. McKay Pty. Ltd. and Messrs F. H. Faulding and Co. for collection of grain in sheaf, and collection of milling wheat in sheaf. Among the prize takers was noticed the name of Mr R. A. Howard of the Dudley district. 

There was an increase in the amount of wool staged and the society is to be congratulated in having obtained the services of Mr Goddard of the School of Mines to judge the exhibit. He remarked that he was rather surprised when be saw the exhibit. It was the finest and largest that he had judged at any country show. We understand that Mr Goddard has been asked to ad dress a meeting of farmers of the Kingscote District at the end of this month. Among the fleeces were exhibits from Penneshaw. Disappointment was expressed by competitors owing to the fact that several prominent sheep men of this district failed to enter wool. 

The flowers took up twice as much space as the same section did last year. In vases etc. there were about 150 entries. The tables had been well laid out and there was no undue crowding in those sections, but the cut flowers were too close together. Mrs H. Carr of American River won the prize for twelve varieties, with some very fine blooms, some of which had not previously been seen on the show bench at Kingscote. Mrs D. Lade won the prize for champion Gladiolo, and the same spike was adjudged to be the champion cut bloom. Mr V. Cook obtained the ticket for champion carnation and for champion rose. This flower when judged was in perfect condition but later in the day it became full blown. Mrs H. Cook obtained the ticket for best arranged vase. This one, with quite a number of others was blown over by a strong gust of wind during the early part of the afternoon. This spoilt the appearance of quite a number of vases. The flower section took Mr P. T. Hockley nearly three hours to judge the exhibits. 

The display of dried fruits was a fine one, and goes to show what can be done with fruit on the Island. Fine strawberries from American River were commented on. There were some fine lemons and oranges staged, which goes to prove that we can grow citrus fruits successfully on K.I. There was a big improvement in the quantity of vegetables staged this this year. The school children put up several fine exhibits, but unfortunately there was not enough room available to stage them properly. The collections of vegetables grown by amateurs were clean and young. The pumpkins were a fine exhibit and greatly admired. About the same quality of dairy produce was staged again this year. The quality of the butter was again very good. There was some fine bacon and the collections were favourable commented on. Mrs R. A. Howard of Penneshaw was one of the prize takers. 

The services of Miss Sharman of Adelaide a cooking demonstrator, was outlined for the purpose of judging the cooking. Miss D. Pledge was the most successful exhibitor in this class and obtained the special prize donated by Mr A. H. Anderson. The exhibits were in most cases of a high standard and the judge made very favourable comments on the quality of the various tasty cakes etc. on the show bench. Mrs J. H. Carter again showed her proficiency in the set of making and cooking plum puddings. Needlework again made a good show and there were several names of prize winners from American River. There was an increase in the entries in the poultry section and there appears to be more interest being taken in this class.  The entries in cattle and sheep were again very poor, and it seems impossible, to make these classes a success, owing to the cost of bringing the animals into Kingscote. 

In the evening a successful dance was held in the District Hall, which was attended by a large number of residents from Penneshaw, American River, and the Kingscote district. The Hon. G. R. Laffer in presenting the life members certificates to Messrs J. Turner, V. H. F. Cook, A. H. Anderson and to Mrs Wheaton for her father Mr Howard, paid a tribute to those who started the movement, which caused the inauguration of the K. I. A. and H. Society. The recipients expressed their thanks to the Society for the honor conferred on them. A competition was held during the evening and Messrs Seppelt and Sons gift was won by Mr B. W. Chapman. The School work has been forwarded to Adelaide to be judged and it will be shown in the District Hall on Saturday December 8th.