In one of his first public appearances as the new Director General of the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Scott Hansen officially opened the 2014 Walcha Show on Saturday afternoon.
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Mr Hansen said he was glad to return to the town in which he spent some time in the early 1990s visiting the parents of his wife Trisha – Bruce and Jean Brown.
He also went on to say that he believed the agricultural sector in Australia had a great future and there was much to be positive about. Mr Hansen said the recent drought and increase in export numbers (albeit for low values) has meant we now have a record number of customers in a record number of countries many of which are developing nations with rapidly growing middle class markets.
President of the Walcha Show Society Ross King said in spite of the current drought conditions and difficult season the show was a fantastic success. Mr King thanked the community for their contributions and support.
Some of the quirkier elements of this year’s show included a drought-themed cake by Jock Nivison and a bed pan floral display by Nancy Whitehead.
Jock’s chocolate cake was decorated using plastic farm animals and mixed a serious message with humour.
“We’ve had a little bit of rain recently but there’s no doubt that this area has suffered quite a bit,” he said.
“It’s a reflection on what’s happening on the land at the moment and I’m trying to make light of it.
“It’s very hard to buy a plastic, toy crow so I had to buy a chicken and paint it black and had to put a bit of blood where the crow is eating the sheep.
“I cut a plastic cow in half and stuck the top half in a pile of chocolate mud which is a dried up dam.”
The cake was placed second in the cooking section for men and was awarded a reserve champion ribbon.
“It’s the crowning glory of my life in my 32 years of being on the planet,” Mr Nivison joked.
The horticultural pavilion had a wonderful display of flowers and an amazing floral display of life size botanical figures.
Two new events proved extremely popular this year.
The great Walcha cook off drew a massive crowd and the Apsley River Challenge kept everyone amused in front of the bar area on both Friday and Saturday evenings.
Teams had to complete an obstacle course on motorbike, load the bike back onto the trailer and then reverse the trailer blindfolded in between to posts.
They also had to herd sheep, tie one up, chop and load wood, construct and deconstruct a fence, roll up a swap, set up a picnic and eat a raw egg – all under 15 minutes. The winners were the Agents Andrew Blomfield, Simon Newton and Alexander Laurie.
The ever popular peanut drop was changed this year and the peanuts were dropped by a super spreader instead of a low flying aircraft. This didn’t affect the enthusiasm of the children though and as usual the show ring was packed with coloured peanut hunters.
Organisers say the crowds were up this year and this was reflected in the takings at the gate.
For social pictures from the weekend turn to page 6.
