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IDMIRIHG an exhibit in the handicrafts section is Mrs. Holland i'above), who is supervising handi-

crafts entries in the Show. '

WHIPPING VP a light sponge is a hobby of taxi-driver Bill Elliott (right). He has entered for three

cake classes in this year's Show,

J how time is always

their work time

By a staff reporter

Sydney's Royal Easter Show is the outing of the year for thousands of children and their parents, but to the men and women behind the scenes it is hard work climaxing weeks, often months, of preparation.

WHEN the Show opens

on April 9, 20 acres of lawns, thousands of

and hundreds of

tree; will be in perfect order to greet the huge crowds.

Head gardener Walter South, who gave up his job as an in in worker to take up honioilture, is proud of the weil-k. pt gardens.

"Before the Show our staff of four gardeners swells to ll," ht- said.

To i lectrical engineer Eric Halli«-Ile the Show in full 'wing neans that the ground needs more electric current than a town the size of Goul- burn.

I first came here we had a little bit of a switch- board on Lang Road," he said, and ur current require

merits were equal to those of only a small factory.

"Now we have 15 miles of main cables and more than

69,000 lighting points. When we're in full running order

45 mechanics are full time on maintenance."

Novice exhibitor William

Elliott, 32-year-old taxi-driver, of King's Cross, Sydney, has been waiting for this Show since he was 24 and made his first sponge cake.

Eight years ago Mr. Elliott's sister, Loretta, returned home triumphant from domestic

science school.

"She was only 14," said Mr. Elliott. "1 thought that if she could make a cake I shoii'd be able to learn."

Mr. Elliott entered for the Brookvale Show last year, but didn't get a place.

''I should do better this time because I know now it's im- portant to make the cakes look pretty on proper d'oyleys and stiff cardboard stands," he said.

"My father thinks the whole thing is a joke and a lot of my mates laugh at me for wanting to cook, but if I can just get a certificate for a third place I won't care what they say," he said.

One of the busiest women in Show time is Mrs. Ruby Holland, who is in charge of the handicrafts section.

"We have 3000 entries this

year, which is a record, and nearly 1000 more than last year," Mrs. Holland said.

A young married couple, Harry and Jean Holland, have been training for weeks for their part in the Royal Show.

They are dare-devil motor- cyclists in "The Wall of Death," one of the spectacu-

lar sideshows.

The Hollands perform in a wooden drum 16 feet high and 30 feet in diameter, riding their cycle up the walls in a spiral until they speed almost horizontally near the top at

45 miles an hour.

The Hollands once had a

narrow escape when Jean's long auburn hair tangled around Harry's face and tem- porarily blinded him.

" The cycle hit the safety cable at the top of 'the

drum, then went to the bot-

tom very fast, leaving one foot-rest behind," said Jean. "After that I had my hair

cut short."

When they are not work- ing at the Show, Jean is a typist in a city office and Harry a maintenance man at a big amusement park.

The Show is a family tradition for Sidney George Haron, 61-year-old overseer.

"It gets in your blood, I suppose," he said. "My father, Frank Haron, was overseer here for 46 years and I

IN ACTION, "Wall of Death" rider» Mr. and Mr». Harry Holland »peed almo»t horizontally round the top of a big wooden drum. They do their act every year at the Shine.

started work with him in my school holidays.

"In 1921 they built a house for my Dad in the grounds. I live there now."

Engineering Superintendent Charles Roy Tennant, who has been in his job since 1939, says that this is the first year that all sheep dog trials will be held at night.

"It will be interesting to see how the dogs work under lights," he said. "In pre- vious years owners have felt that the dogs who were tried at the end of the day in

failing light were handi- capped."

A demonstration of honey production will be a new attraction this year in the dairy produce pavilion.

The women demonstrators, both wives of commercial bee-

keepers, are Mrs. Margie Darrell, of Kellyville, and her friend Mrs. Edna Berman, of East Maitland.

"I'm quite nervous about my part of the demon- stration," said Mrs. Darrell. "But I'm nervous of the audi- ence, not of the bees."

HEAD GARDENER (left) at the Show Ground, Wally South, examines one of the blooms in the Royal Agricultural Society's trial dahlia ground, which is his

special care.

SHOWGROUND OVERSEER Sidney Haron (above), with some of the keys in his charge. He took over the job from his father and has lived and worked at

the ground nearly all his life.

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