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Date: 1907 Type: Agricultural Showgrounds Status: Extant

Barkly East Agricultural Society Show Grounds The records of the Society go back to 1907, though it is understood that Shows were held before that date which the late Mr HA Meintjies advised the writer that these were held on the vacant ground where the old bioscope hall and Norton's Buildings now stand and on the Market Square. It would seem that shortly after the Anglo-Boer War a grant of land was obtained from the Government for the purpose of constructing proper buildings. Largely through the efforts of the late Mr FW Powrie MLA and the late Mr EV Cotterell, funds were collected and by January, 1907, the buildings, presumably the present Industrial Hall and some pens and the iron sheds on the north side of the grounds, were completed at a cost of approximately £2 000 [R4 000 equivalent then]. In 1908, the then Secretary, the late Mr Crause Boardman, was obliged to write to the Lady Principal of the "poor school" to protest at the damage caused by the children to the buildings in the Show yard and to complain about the rude words scribbled on the doors. In 1910 a Mr Wilson was the proprietor of the Phoenix Hotel which was licensed at that time and he secured the rights to sell liquor at the Show in that year for the sum of £6 [R12 equivalent then]. In 1911 it was resolved to build a cottage cum grand-stand and that the successful tenderer was the late Mr RA Mollentze. The timber, etc. was brought from Dordrecht by ox wagons belonging to Mr Powrie. At a later date the late Mr HR Giddy paid for the construction, alongside the grandstand, of a tea-room, which has since disappeared. In later years the seating section was removed from the top of the cottage as it had become unsafe and a new roof was put on the cottage, which now forms part of the tearoom. From time to time additional sheds and pens were constructed and in 1961 the present pavilion etc. was erected at a cost of R2 495, of which R1 778 was donated. Presidents to date [1965] have been:- FW Powrie M.L.A.: 1903 — 1914 CE Orpen: 1914 — 1917 SA Kleynhans: 1917 — 1925 Ben Norton: 1925 — 1927 JH Botha M.P.C.: 1927 — 1936 JW Sephton: 1936 — 1950 HW Smith: 1950 — 1955 HES Potgieter: 1955 — 1960 GS Vorster: 1960 — 1961 JG Linstrom: 1961 — 1964 DP Potgieter. 1964 — 19th May, 1965 [Extracted and edited from Smith, HW. 1965. Barkly East Agricultural Society - sixty years.old. Barkly East. in The Barkly East Reporter 100 – 1886-1986. Supplement to the Barkly East Reporter. Friday 22 August 1986. sp.] All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.