Showground Trust Preseident Geoff Beath and the old sheep shed
Canowindra Showground is heading for its first big upgrade in a while with almost $73,000 earmarked for the replacement of its Sheep Pavilion. The money – $72,986 to be exact – is coming from the state government’s Public Reserves Management Fund (PRMF) and is part of a total $5 million which the fund is spending this time round on showground maintenance and weed and pest management control throughout NSW. Canowindra Showground Trust president Geoffrey Beath says the pavilion, or Sheep Shed, will be replaced with a new one to give it a new concept – not just catering for stud shows as it does at the moment but enabling other functions to be staged there.
“We’re looking at team penning and other shows, making the pavilion more user friendly,” he says. “It’s taken 18 months for the trust to get the grant, and naturally everyone connected with the showground is very pleased about it.”
So is Cabonne Council’s general manager Andrew Hopkins, noting that Yeoval Showground has also been awarded $139,000 for a new amenities block. “The community is delighted,” he says, “They have been waiting for some time for [both] these projects.”
Geoff Beath says work is expected to begin on the sheep pavilion “next February-March, once we get the Canowindra Show out of the way.” Applications for a new round of PRMF grants open this month.
By Derek Maitland
Sheep Shed