In spite of being one of the smallest villages in the state, the tiny southern Monaro hamlet of Delegate tries hard to pull out all the stops when it comes to its annual show day.
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While the schedule listed the full range of the produce, livestock, and pavilion exhibits one might expect, entertainment was high on the agenda too, from such simple contests as billy boiling and bike decorating to a short film competition and a basketball shootout.
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According to Delegate Show Society president John Guthrie, the 111th annual show came together as a result of a hard working team which has, in some cases, supported the event for generations.
“Today as president I announced prizes that went to my dad and my grandfather,” he smiled.
“It was pretty special in itself, but the fact that it comes after years of our family being involved with the Delegate Show made it even more so....and you can see other families who’ve given their all to it over the years.
"We might be small, but show day is our chance to showcase how our community works together. We’re very proud!”
One popular attraction that stood out was Bradley Matthews with his bullock team.
Brad is something of a journeyman who does a bit of this and a bit of that, shearing, horse breaking, general farm work, but developed a special interest in putting together his own heavy haulage team after seeing a team working elsewhere.
“I only started with them a couple of years ago,” he said,
“But they’re moving pretty well now and I’ve had them to a few other community things like school celebrations and so on.
"It’s given me an interest and a challenge - even down to making the yolks for them myself. I got a couple from Queensland, but enjoyed making my own too.”
For John Alcock, of Greenland Merino Stud at Bungarby, pride came from a resounding set of wins in the sheep pavilion, so resounding that he took out all the major trophies on offer for the sheep classes.
At the suggestion that he would need a semi-trailer to get all the silver ware home, he laughed.
“It’s pretty good eh,” he said.
“You try hard to produce good quality animals and wins like this confirm you’re getting it right. That’s really rewarding!”
The final word about the show though, must go to MLA for Monaro Bronnie Taylor.
“It’s towns like this that give you a real sense of what it is at the heart of rural Australia,” she said.
“Small communities working together and people supporting one another - that’s what it’s all about.”
