Don Murchie is recognised for commitment to the show movement

He has also also been a delegate for the Central North Group of Shows on the Show Council of NSW for 12 years

To recognise this outstanding achievement, Don was presented with a medal for Service to the Show Movement from the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) at the 2019 Walcha Show by RAS Councillor Duncan Macintyre.

The Murchie family has been actively involved with the Walcha Show for over 100 years.

"My grandfather, Alex Murchie was president from 1913 to 1920 and secretary from 1922 to 1933," Don said.  "He had his fatal heart attack while in the show office which was a room at the front of the Literary Institute where the Pump Shop is now."

Don says his earliest memories of the Walcha Show are of his father, his two sisters and his grandmother leaving Summer Hill in the early hours of the first morning of the show on their way to set up the pavilion and take entries.

"The show in those days was on Tuesday and Wednesday and the pavilion stewards went in early, set up, had breakfast in the luncheon booth then took entries till 10am, had them judged before lunch ready to open after lunch," Don said.

"My mother, two sisters and I would then go in the next day with the others - eight of us in the old Dodge tourer car. A picnic lunch also went with us which was partaken under the pine trees on the hill with other show families. That evening after the pavilion was cleared the show committee and stewards had a party in the pavilion and us kids were left to play outside. That would also have been my first experience mixing with other kids as we did correspondence schooling."

Don's official involvement with the Walcha Show began when he was 15 helping Irwin Stier with the Intershow Exhibit between Walcha and Uralla.

"I worked with Irwin to set up our exhibit at Uralla Show, and then pulled it down and set it up at Walcha Show," he said.

"During my Farrer days I missed all the shows but when I left school I was more or less propelled straight into a lifetime of involvement in shows."

Don became the Chief Pavilion Steward for 21 years from the age of only 20. He  also served as president of the Walcha Show Society, before taking on the role of secretary for the past 15 years.

"In 2003 after the sudden resignation of the then secretary I said I would take over till a new one could be appointed," Don said.

"It has only taken 15 years to appoint a new secretary and Dale Webber has done a tremendous job this year."