THE Whittlesea Show has continued to cement itself as one of Victoria’s premier agricultural shows, taking the People’s Choice Awards at Sunday night’s VAS Show Awards.
A post on their Facebook page thanked those that helped out bringing the show to life.
“It is a pleasure to bring the Show to the Whittlesea and surrounding communities each year, and it is only with the hard work of our volunteers and the support from within the Whittlesea community that the Show continues each year,” they wrote.
“We thank everyone who gives their time, our sponsors and the community for their support.”
Whittlesea Agricultural Society president Jayson Munro expressed his pure delight at the Show securing the award.
“I was a bit shocked to start with. Every show in Victoria was eligible, and I didn’t think we had a chance, as there are bigger shows in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat, but we knew we were nominated,” he said.
“To know that the community, council members and volunteers got behind us and voted for us, it means a lot, because you can’t run a Show without those people, and they think it’s a good show too and worthy of a vote.
“It has pros and cons being on the urban fringe as we are, it’s an agricultural show and we’re trying to demonstrate agriculture to the masses. But Whittlesea is becoming less agricultural and more urban, so it makes it more important to reiterate to people where food comes from, how it comes, and the processes involved to getting it there.
“It’s a massive feather in our cap, to sit back and say we have shone above 100-plus other shows is fantastic. Feedback from many people suggests they say Whittlesea is a great Show, and from my point of view, we probably don’t see it as much, as we do it year in, year out, but we don’t recognise it as much because it’s normal for us.
“We don’t make efforts to see other shows and how they’re going. But it’s a great award to win, and to be recognised for putting all our efforts into it.”
Mr Munro said the volunteers were a key part of making the Show what it is.
“I try and reinforce all the time that the volunteers are the backbone of the Show. It doesn’t matter whether you’re involved all-year round or you only do two hours on a weekend to help out, every little bit helps and is valued from my point of view and the committee’s point of view,” he said.
“Without the volunteers and the community support, we wouldn’t have a Show.”
The Whittlesea Agricultural Society is one of the oldest and continuous Agricultural Societies in Victoria.
The Whittlesea Agricultural Society had its beginnings in 1859 on a site near the Whittlesea Railway Station with the first Whittlesea Fair. There were 40 members, who subscribed approximately one pound each to get the show on the road.
Over the years the Whittlesea Show has brought he best of country life and while honouring the heritage of the Whittlesea Farming Community
Showgoers see the event as a showcase for food, farmers and a trading place for rural skills and crafts, ranging from vintage to modern showing you changing farming practices through machinery, animals and ways of life.
This year’s edition of the Whittlesea Show will be held on November 1 and 2 at the Whittlesea Showgrounds, with the much-anticipated schedule due to be released soon.
Mr Munro said there would be a theme around careers in agriculture for this year’s edition.
“Every year we have a different theme for the Show. Last year, it was innovation in agriculture, which was demonstrating the different technologies that have come around. This year, we’ve chosen careers in agriculture. We are trying to demonstrate to people that so many careers are linked back to agriculture, such as science, or machinery design or maintenance,” he said.
“The idea is to get universities and training organisations involved to demonstrate what’s on offer to show what can be achieved and what the pathways might be to those jobs and how they come from agriculture, which is a big push for us.”
