Sterling find for A&P Association

Two sterling silver trophies, last awarded in 1925, have been discovered in a box after being presumed missing for decades.

The special pair have been graciously returned to Marlborough’s A&P Association in the leadup to its 150^th show this November.

The G.F Watts Cup for ‘half bred Merino ewe under 18 months’ and the Farmer’s Co-op Cup for ‘half bred Merino ewe under 30 months with lamb at foot’, were cast in Britain in 1915 and 1920 respectively and won by Frank J Bonnington in 1924 and 1925.

They resurfaced after Bonnington’s great-grandson, Andy Deane, found the time organise boxes left in his spare bedroom passed down to him after the death of his uncle.

Andy says it is an honour to return the trophies.

“The Bonnington’s had merino farm runs on both sides of the Wairau River back in the day with Frank’s run on the north bank, so all the workers had to traverse the river from their quarters to go to work, while the Watts family ran Lansdowne Station from which Lansdowne Park takes its name from, and both families were incredibly invested members of Marlborough’s farming community back at that time”, says Andy.

“I couldn’t be happier to return great-grandad’s trophies back to the A&P Association for them to display in November at the show and present the history of Marlborough’s farming heritage”.

Marlborough A&P Association committee member Alan Jones was amazed by Andy’s finds and is incredibly grateful to him, and other members of the community have found old A&P Show memorabilia.

“After we lost the A&P grandstand, we felt like we lost a lot of history and soul - but seeing items like these wonderful trophies in perfect condition alongside old programmes, medals and photos reinforces the importance that the A&P Association has in Marlborough and across New Zealand”.

“We’ve gone hunting for and found some real treasures, like 1931 show guide which has railway schedules for people out of Blenheim to make the trip up from Kaikōura leaving at 4.30am and used ammunition cases from when A&P Park was used as an army camp and muster ground during World War 1”.

Alan hopes that other Marlburians will take the time to look through stored items this winter, and he hopes more A&P Show memorabilia will pop up to be added to the collection before the show kicks off on the 3^rd November.

“I’ve been on the committee for 35 years and I’ve never seen such an interesting find - these trophies will be displayed in pride of place after 99 years away”.

“Items like these get packed away and forgotten about very easily, so it’s always fantastic when we get returned unexpected bits of history and we want to put up a special display of historic artifacts for this year’s show”.

This year’s 150^th Marlborough A&P Show includes the Royal Equestrian Event this year as well as the usual competitions and farm related fun, and with 149 years of experience the Association hopes to make it the biggest and best yet.