Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Sydney Royal Easter Show celebrates 190 years - Herald Sun



Sydney Royal Easter Show


Judges inspect a prize-winning rooster in poultry pavillion during annual Royal Easter Show. Picture Sydney Royal Easter Show Source: Supplied




FROM humble beginnings, NSW’s premier agricultural exhibition has grown into a world-class event.



The first Show was held by the Agricultural Society of NSW (now the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW) at Parramatta Park in 1823.


At the time, Parramatta was the agricultural hub of the colony, which was struggling to provide for its population of 30,000 – half of whom were convicts.


The aim of the agricultural gathering was to encourage improvement in local animals and agricultural methods.


The Show was held on the site of the present day Parramatta Town Hall and was attended by visitors and Agricultural Society members alike.


Fourteen prizes were to be given for stock: 10 for Merino sheep, three for cattle and one for the best colonial-bred stallion; four prizes were allocated to servants for animal husbandry skills and for good conduct and long service.


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Dingoes were such a menace to stock that further prizes were to be awarded to the three individuals who culled the greatest number, with tails required as proof of the cull.


Of the 112 members then on the Agricultural Society’s books, almost half sat down to dinner that night at the local inn and many toasts were drunk. The convivial Captain Piper brought along his band which played well into the night to the entertainment of all.




Bertie Beetle


Bertie Beetle is celebrating 50 years of show bags. Picture: Cooper Stephen Source: The Daily Telegraph




Historic highlight: Bertie Beetle’s 50th Birthday


Bertie Beetle, one of the Show’s most loved and affordable showbags, will celebrate its 50th birthday at the 2013 Sydney Royal Easter Show.


Created as a means of using the unused shards of honeycomb from the production of Violet Crumble, Bertie Beetle is possibly the most loved showbag of all time.


Bertie Beetle was formulated from the factory of Hoadley’s Chocolate in Melbourne in the early 1960s and first appeared as part of the Hoadley’s Chocolate showbag in 1963.


In 1972, due to increased popularity, an individual Bertie Beetle showbag was launched. Decades have now passed and the legend of Bertie has continued to grow.


Today there are five different Bertie Beetle showbags with a sixth 50th Anniversary special showbag to be launched at this year’s Show. Buy your Bertie Beetle showbag from the Showbag Pavilion at the Show.




Sydney Royal Easter Show


The first ever winner of the Showgirl competition in 1962. Picture Sydney Royal Easter Show Source: Supplied




Historic highlight: The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Competition


The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Competition is steeped in tradition with the first competition taking place in 1962 with 20 entrants.


Last year, Showgirls from the past 50 years came together at the Show to celebrate the special milestone.


Today, more than 500 young women annually enter the competition in NSW, which aims to find a young female ambassador for rural NSW.


Contestants are judged on personality, confidence, ambition and life goals, general knowledge, rural knowledge, presentation and speech.


Winners attend many country shows and official functions, acting as an ambassador for NSW and networking with community and regional stakeholders.


To see who will take out the 2013 Showgirl title, be sure to visit the Big Top Amphitheatre to see the official presentation.


When: March 30 at 1:30pm


Where: Big Top Amphitheatre




Sydney Royal Easter Show


The wood chop competition on an unkown date. Picture Sydney Royal Easter Show Source: Supplied




Show facts: A history of firsts


The first Show was held in Parramatta Park in 1823.


The first fireworks display at the Show was in 1884.


Showgoers were able to enjoy an evening at the Show for the first time in 1894, thanks to electricity.


The first Woodchopping Competition was held in 1899 in a paddock that doubled as a cattle ring.


The first Grand Parade was held in 1907.


The first showbags – known then as sample bags – were handed out for free in the early 1900s.


The first carnival ride at the Show was in 1901 and involved two carriages that swung around at the fairly modest speed of 30 miles per hour (48km/h).


The Duke and Duchess of York were the first royals to visit the Show in 1927.


The front gates of the Show had to be temporarily closed in 1935 when the grounds were full and a further 7000 people queued up outside to enter.


Attendance at the Show broke the one million mark for the first time in 1938.


In 1962 the first Showgirl competition was held.


The first Show to be held at Sydney Olympic Park was in 1998 and recorded the second-largest attendance in Show history.




Sydney Royal Easter Show


Historic images of the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Date unknown. Picture: Sydney Royal Easter Show Source: Supplied




Show timeline: from 1823 to 2013


1823: The first Show is held at Parramatta Park.


1869: The Show moved to Prince Alfred Park in the city. Attendance was 37,350. Prizes valued at £634 were offered for livestock, farm produce, wines, horticulture, poultry, manures and farm machinery.


1882: The Show moved to Moore Park in 1881 where 16ha of land was purchased and the first Show opened in 1882. It stayed at this location for 115 years.


1891: The Society became the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, an honour bestowed by Queen Victoria.


1994: The NSW Government approved the Show’s relocation to Sydney Olympic Park due to the event outgrowing the Moore Park facilities.


1998: The first Show is held in the new spacious surroundings at Sydney Olympic Park.


2013: The Show continues to be Australia’s largest annual event, attracting close to 900,000 people each year. The event injects more than $500 million into the NSW economy annually.


Fun Fact


In 1947 a boy named Stanley Steele of Randwick liked the Show so much he played truant and stayed for a week.


He earned his keep by selling empty bottles and working on the merry-go-round.


When he finally asked the police to take him home to his anxious mother he had four shillings more in his pocket than when he set out.



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