The History of the Harare Agricultural Show
It all started with a vision, the noble idea of holding a show in the country’s capital city, an annual show for fine agricultural and horticultural produce. G W Hubbarb, an enterprising horticulturalist,interested a group of fellow agriculturists and civil servants in this venture and together they formed the country’s first Show Society in 1895. The So
ciety has faced many challenges over the years, but its motto has always been, “ the show must go on” and go on it did- with loans from banks. The support of farmers and the business community debentures- and on some occasions, even the personal guarantee of its members. However, there were some years when it was not possible to stage
a show-when rinderpest, East Coast Fever and
World War 2 intervened. During World War 2 the grounds were requisitioned as a military base camp. At other times, entries were somewhat diminished when drought and foot and mouth disease took their toll. The Story of the Harare Show is one of the
country’s great success stories. It is a story of the vision,determination and acumen of the Society’s office bearers, over the years. It is also a story of fruitful partnership – between town and country,the City Fathers and ZAS, and between ZAS and the exhibitors at the show.
