When you visit Kangaroo Valley Showground do you always notice where you are standing and what you are looking at?
Do you compare it with other showgrounds near us, on the Coast or Highlands? I do often and am thankful for the beauty and charm of what I see. Some of the showgrounds in other villages and small towns in Shoalhaven and on the Highlands often seem like wastelands (except when the local show comes along). Some seem to gather rather tatty caravans and others have sheds around that look forlorn, unloved and dilapidated.
I look at our showground and I love it! Not just the fact that it is part of this lovely valley with the mountain views but the fact that the oval and its surrounds are always in a fit state to play cricket, frisbee, soccer, rugby or other ball sports with very little need to do anything but provide equipment for whichever sport and enough people to make up a couple of teams.
There is what used to be the Pony Clubhouse and paddock on the far left. This area used to be well attended in the summer months with young people and their horses practising skills for the Show in February – I suppose this will happen again when enough girls are interested in equestrianship.
Then there are the dog walkers, of which I am one. Ruby makes sure I get some of those 10,000 steps a day by taking me for walks! From time to time we meet other dogs which means I am ignored because I’m not as fast as I used to be. Everyone we meet in the showground is smiling – both dog and human. It is a place of great joy for all who take a walk around or just sit and contemplate the view. Do you know why? I believe it is because of the hard work and love put into the care of this area (and its surrounds) by Jacqueline Lenz. Everyone in Kangaroo Valley must have met her at some time or another. She is the reason for the magnificent condition of our showground. I believe she has worked here for over 30 years and she takes great pride in her work. The grass is always kept well cut, almost any day one will see her out with either whipper-snipper, motor mower or the large ‘ride-on’ mower. When we have had a storm she is usually out with a rake and shovel putting the road gravel back from the grass or digging away the mud to release stagnant water or picking up debris from the trees. I even saw her cleaning the signs on the gate near Glenmack one day!
If you don’t ‘know’ Jacqueline, then next time you see her in the ground (the blonde with the ponytail dressed in high-viz vest) introduce yourself and have a chat. Tell her how good the place looks for her efforts. I don’t think many of us stop to think what a simple thing this is to do. Jac doesn’t get too many accolades.
When you next go to Nowra if you have time to visit that showground, this used to be one of the “wastelands” I mentioned at the beginning of this article, but Jacqueline now looks after it for Shoalhaven Council and she is gradually winning. It is no longer a place of broken bottles, crushed-up drink cans and scrunched-up takeaway food boxes, it is beginning to look cared for and loved.
This is what Jac does – she loves her work and she loves this place so next time you see her thank her for all her hard work and love. We are lucky she lives here and cares.
