Stella and Doug Wills with Jessie Lockington and Jack O'Brien, 1947.
Stella and Doug Wills with Jessie Lockington and Jack O'Brien, 1947.
Katikati A&P Show will be with us again soon and, like many others, we will be remembering the show days of our childhoods.
It takes little imagination to go back and once again breathe in the sounds, smells and anticipation leading up to show day towards the end of the summer holidays.
Summer holidays in the 1950s seemed to be endless sunny days broken up with haymaking and the smell of freshly cut grass.
Mostly we roamed, played in creeks and built our huts. However, towards the end of the holidays the big event in our lives was show day.
Show day took preparation. Mother sewed us all new clothes.
We were scrubbed, hair washed, new clothes fitted, shoes cleaned and fingernails checked. Show day was the day all of Katikati came to the domain in their finest.
Kathy Wills at the Katikati A&P Show in 1951, aged 5.
The first call was to my grandparents’ place. James and Elsie Lockington lived next to the domain in Major St and all local relatives would be gathered there. Show day attracted friends and family back to Katikati so the house would be filled with people chatting and catching up on the news.
We children we would hang over the fence bordering the domain and check out the fun.
Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds and the smell of candy floss built the anticipation.
But first, we went to check the home industries shed, where impressive displays of handiwork from busy Katikati women were, including the best flowers and vegetable entries. My grandmother worked on this committee for years.
Elsie Lockington (Kathy Wills' grandmother) with her prize-winning tea cosy.
Before we were let loose on the actual grounds we did a walk around the sales yard to check out cattle and other animals put forward to win prizes.
The photographer at the gate did great business. My first show at 6 weeks old in 1947 is well recorded. My father, just 15 months after coming home from World War II, stands by the pram with my mother, along with my aunty and dad’s friend from out of town — they would later marry. There must have been a convoy of prams at the show that day as it signalled the start of the baby boom.
Stella and Doug Wills with Jessie Lockington and Jack O'Brien, 1947.
Each show brought more memories. There is a photo of me aged about 5 in a beautiful dress my mother had made. My hair was let out of the usual plaits for the day.
My father was always in the chopping competitions and a photo shows him at his best. My highland dancing competitions often clashed with my father chopping and I remember watching my dad chop as I danced the highland fling.
The grand parade started about 3pm, bringing us all together again. There was a thrill at seeing the finest of cattle and horses parade around the ring with their prize-winning rosettes and sashes proudly displayed. There was a great sense of community as we watched the parade with pride.
The show slowed down after that as farmers went home to milk and visitors from out of town made their way back home. After the heat and excitement children were tired and no doubt grizzly. We returned to our grandparents but soon were packed into the car for a quick trip home.
Show day is here again on February 5 this year. It still has all the excitement of yesteryear. The A&P committee work hard to make this continue to happen. The side shows may have changed but the atmosphere remains. Gather up friends and family from here and afar and make Katikati memories that will last.
