Show of support for stand
A WORKING bee gathered at the Warwick Showgrounds at the weekend to begin the restoration of the Portley stand.
Rodeo Committee Member John Skinner said it was a successful day.
"We had a good number turn up for the working bee," he said.
"We started work at eight and were finished by 12, we even got 20 minutes off for smoko."
The group removed all the wooden seating from the stand.
"They will be replaced with steel seating and they need a bit of a clean-up," he said.
"I think they are going to replace the stairs as well."
Mr Skinner said the wood used was good quality.
"Not all of it needed replacing," he said. "But it was easier to do it all at once than piece by piece.
"We think the first section of the seating went in after the war and they added the higher section 10 years later."
Mr Skinner said the good timber would be reused around the grounds.
The Portley Stand is named after former Warwick Mayor E.J. Portley who put the Warwick Rodeo on the map.
