Castle Hill Show may still go on after all

Castle Hill and Hills District Agricultural Show Society president Peter Gooch said a number of alternative options were now possible to keep the 130-year-old society afloat.

A final decision on their future will be decided at the society’s annual general meeting in September.

It comes about a month after the society announced it would cease operation on June 30, due to insufficient funding. They said a changed rental agreement with The Hills Council over the Showground had impacted revenue. 

”The main thing is to try and hang on until 2019 when the new railway station opens because parking is a big issue,” Mr Gooch said.

Construction on the Sydney Metro Northwest at Showground, due to be completed in 2019, as well as works to widen Showground Road, have also impacted operations.

The parking zone previously used by those participating in the show’s equestrian events was designated as a depot by the Roads and Maritime Authority for the road widening.

“It’s a pretty popular and important part of the event and it’s part of the entertainment – if we can’t have that we can’t have the show the way it is,” Mr Gooch said.

The obstacles thrown in the society’s path aren’t restricted to construction in the area, however, with financial assistance still being sought.

Mr Gooch said they hoped to get some form of funding from The Hills Council, but were still in negotiations.

“We’ve definitely got to get the finances back on track – the committee is looking for sponsorship but we won’t know the results of that for a few months yet,” he said.

“It was a bit drastic to go ahead with the original motion to cease at the end of June, so we’ve rescinded that and decided to go through to the AGM.”

Mr Gooch will also step down as president at the meeting, after 10 years as president. He will remain on the committee, however, and said he hoped they would find a replacement president to inject new life into the ailing society.

“I think we kept the show going longer than we thought we would,” he said.

“The start of the railway could have been the end for sure, but we were able to keep it in tact.”