Two years after it was first requested, councillors have decided to name Orange Showground’s latest addition after the Naylor family.
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At Tuesday night’s Orange City Council meeting councillors were split between the Naylor Pavilion, in recognition of the late Ray and Betty Naylor and their son Peter, and the Presidents Pavilion, leaving mayor John Davis to decide the matter.
“It will be the Naylor Pavilion,” Councillor Davis said.
The decision received applause from councillors and the public gallery.
Orange Show Society president Peter Naylor said he was happy with the outcome, more so because Cr Davis was the deciding vote.
“Whenever they used to vote on something, he asked, ‘are you happy with what’s gone through Mrs Naylor?’,” he said.
“If she wasn’t, they had to do it again.
“That was the respect he had for my mother.”
With councillor Kevin Duffy arguing during the debate a street could be named after Mrs Naylor, Mr Naylor said his mother wouldn’t have wanted it.
“When my poor old dad died, we got in the mourning car and went through the showground because it was his second home and when Mum died, we used the Red Arch Cafe as the place for the wake, because that was her life,” he said.
“There were three things my mum loved – her grandchildren, [breeding birds] and the showground, that was the truth.”
Showground advocate and councillor Ron Gander supported the Presidents Pavilion name at the meeting at because it recognised all previous Orange Show contributors.
“I’ve got 110 years of history of office bearers,” he said.
Cr Gander said Mrs Naylor’s efforts at the Red Arch Cafe made it a more appropriate dedication.
Fellow councillor Jason Hamling said he did not want to see a situation like the proposal to rename Riawena Oval after Carl Sharpe, when it emerged there were other worthy contenders.
“The Presidents Pavilion encompasses even when the show didn’t go ahead … and Mr Naylor understands they will be recognised because if it wasn’t for them, [the pavilion] wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
However, councillor Glenn Taylor said the family fought for the building and they still served the show society.
“There’s plenty of other facilities in the future that could be named after the other people on that list,” he said.
Councillor Neil Jones described the Presidents Pavilion as a “silly name”.
“It’s going to be one of the most valuable assets for many activities,” he said.
Despite losing the vote, Cr Gander said it was still a good decision and looked forward to applying for funding for showground projects once the pavilion was complete.
He said the canteen was the next priority, along with toilets and showers closer to the Naylor Pavilion.
“We hope to build up sporting functions and horse riding events and if people bring their horses and stay two or three days, they need a shower,” he said.
“It’s about half a million dollars-worth I think, and I’m hoping to be able to start applying for grants soon.”
The Central Western Daily conducted a poll asking readers if they supported the pavilion to be named after Mrs Naylor.
Of the 271 people who responded, 68 per cent supported it, 25 per cent said no and 7 per cent were undecided.