By Tania Phillips
Stanthorpe held the first show of the year in Australia in 2021 and was one of the first major events to resume after the initial Covid lockdowns of 2020.
Back then it was a sign that we’d all get back to normal things again and a test to see how show would operate under covid restrictions.
It was a huge success with members from show societies across Queensland coming to see how the Stanthorpe Show Society handled an event under the protocols and handle it they did.
However, in a cruel irony Covid laid the event low in 2022 with the initial January show being postponed.
But you can’t keep a good show (or committee) down because as Show Society president Brett “Boaty” Boatfield and his committees will tell you, they weren’t about to let Covid stop the event (only war has done that in it’s 140 plus year history). The show still went on in Stanthorpe – just a little later than usual (April to be exact).
However now it returns to it’s rightful place in the show calendar as the first Queensland Agricultural Show of the year, taking place February 3-5 and Boaty is expecting the 2023 Bendigo Bank Stanthorpe Show to be bigger and better than ever.
“It is great to be back in our usual spot of being the first show to be held in Queensland,” he said.
“The grounds will be in great shape, the dust has well and truly settled and there is a buzz around the district in anticipation of going to the show.
“Once again, the usual favourites including cookery, stitch craft, handicrafts, fruit and veg, photography, all the animal displays including the animal nursery, horse events, prime and stud cattle, sheep and wool, miniature goats, sheep dog trials, the poultry and birds, horticulture, and the novelty dogs will all be on display.”
It’s a quick turnaround but Boaty believes he and all the various sub committees and volunteers who help make the event happening are more than ready to do it all again.
“We had our show in April and suddenly we’ve got our 2023 show coming up real quick so it hasn’t been as long between shows as we normally have but it’s exciting to be back on our normal timeslot, first show in Qld, we’re really looking forward to getting back into the warmer months,” he laughed.
“And we have all the usual sections back. The last show in April we had some sub committees that couldn’t put their sections on like stud cattle to name one but they’re all going to be in fine form at the 2023 show. They’ve already got facebook posts up about the sections, encouraging the locals to enter and people further abroad to enter.
“I was talking to one of our major sponsors Wilshire and Co today and they’re sponsoring the Wine, Beer and Italian Preserve section and their really happy.”
He said the committee has hit the ground running for this show with new publicity officer Margie Davies of Print and Copy already getting the word out fast.
“She’s doing a magnificent job, she’s only doing it for a little while but she’s on top of all the facebook posts and supplying information to Stanthorpe Today – she’s really getting into it,” Boaty said.
“It’s great to promote it and get people thinking about showtime.
“I think people just love coming to Stanthorpe Show, it’s one of the major community events of the year, a lot of mates get together at the show. It’s probably the only time they get together, it’s a real community event and it’s important committee.
“We never ever not going to have a show last year, it is just so important to have a show. We haven’t missed one except war time I believe and Covid is certainly not like a war so we were not going to be beaten.
“It was important to have it and continue the tradition.”
The Stanthorpe Show Society was established in 1926, just a couple of years after the town itself came into being.
“Yeah it really wasn’t long after the town was formed they started having the agricultural show,” he said.
“I’ve been looking at some of the 150 years stuff in the paper and every January the agricultural show is mentioned in some way, shape or form.
“It showcases the diversity of our region, that’s why we’re the envy of other show societies. Our show has so much diversity, sheep and wool, we’ve got stud cattle, prime cattle, chooks, goats, we’ve got a huge cookery section, jams, we’ve got the wine pavilion, the homebrew, sausage making, cheesemaking. It showcases our region and the talent we have in the region – all the school stuff that they make. It’s just a real diverse region and the show is one opportunity throughout the year to showcase that diversity which is fantastic.”
The one thing that they aren’t this year is the first show in Australia for the new year, losing that title (as they do periodically) to near neighbours, Tenterfield but rather being a downside for Stanthorpe it is just the opposite.
“I was talking to one of the Showman’s Guild representatives yesterday and it’s a unique year because Tenterfield is before us this year,” he said.
“Every so often on a regular basis Tenterfield is actually before us, we’re still the first show in Queensland, Tenterfield is obviously in NSW. It normally goes Stanthorpe then Tenterfield but next year it’s the other way around.
“The Showman’s Guild, are really keen because that means that they can do Tenterfield and then us and then they go off on their Southern or Northern roots. Usually a lot of them can’t make Tenterfield and the reason for that is Australia Day – a lot of them do the Australia Day Carnivals but because of the way Australia Day falls they can actually do Tenterfield show.
“This means that we should have a very very very good side show alley, because they will all be here. It will be fantastic.
“I’m really hoping there will be hopefully a lot of different rides coming up.
“I’m looking forward to that.”
