Agricultural shows
Agricultural shows
were held in Australia by agricultural societies from the 1820s, imitating counterparts in Britain and Europe. They were primarily a means of promoting new agricultural technology, both by educating local farmers, and encouraging and rewarding innovation. Prizes were awarded to farming equipment and produce—a farming implement's commercial success often relied on the prizes won at local shows. An earlier agricultural contest, the ploughing match, tested both the ploughman's skill and the plough's efficiency. The Van Diemen's Land and NSW Agricultural Societies both held their first show in 1822, but shows did not become major events until the advent of government support in the later nineteenth century. Some discussion of their development and the associated agricultural societies is given in Geoff Raby's Making Rural Australia (1996) and in Brian Fletcher's The Grand Parade (1988). Shows also introduced competitions in bush skills, such as wood-chopping, boxing, shearing, and horse-riding; and in domestic arts, such as baking, preserving, and needlework. In the twentieth century, the parade became a highlight and producers introduced complimentary sample bags, or show bags, of their goods. As well as demonstrating agricultural improvements, the shows offered a variety of sideshow entertainment, from so-called freak shows to travelling boxing troupes, and, later, motorised rides for children. By the interwar period most states held a public Show Day holiday. Agricultural shows were a rich medium for a range of popular folk activities that are largely neglected by historians.
