Chris Oldfield, Naracoorte Community News

Lucindale’s much loved Jeff and Fay Davey have never missed a field day since the outset 44 years ago.

At the heart of Yakka Park, along with other volunteers they give their time generously and can often be found weeding, watering and helping to keep the site picture perfect.

More than 57 years ago, Mr and Mrs Davey took up dairy farming on their Callendale farm near Lucindale.

They had moved there from Mallala where Jeff had also worked as a qualified electrician.

In 1978, they joined a group of young farming families all thirsty for information and wanting to see some of the latest machinery.

The day was hosted by the Coates family at Kyam near Callendale.

It was such a good day, the group of young farmers decided to do it again – on the oval in town, with the backing of their Lucindale Lions Club.

“Then we thought ‘well, if we are going to have a field days, we need an attraction’,” Mr Davey said.

“So, we thought – `tractor pull’. It started off with just a few old farm tractors all doctored up, but it got very sophisticated in the end.”

In order to host the two events, the Lions Club formed two committees – one for the field days, and one for the tractor pull.

While modest about their contribution, it was Jeff’s electrical credentials and Fay’s organisational skills which blended in with the attributes of almost 40 others. 

Together, the idea sparked into what became the state’s largest annual field days – with a two year COVID gap.

For the field days to get going each year, one of the things organisers needed was to get power from the Lucindale Football Club to sites around the town oval.

At first it was 80 sites, but the event grew bigger and bigger, overflowing to the hockey field, which needed powered sites too.

Then when each event was over, all the power cords and cables had to be removed again, safely.

Project managing and organising the whole event as field day secretary was also a voluntary job.

Mrs Davey did it for 11 years. Her friend Pauline Hocking did it for six. For a while, they also did it together.

Tasks involved endless phone calls – dealing with all the exhibitors, their enquiries, allocating them to areas, addressing any concerns and liaising with the media.

It was a time before computer programs, digital cameras, emails and mobile phones.

“Usually, whoever was the site steward – their wife would do the secretary job,” Mrs Davey said.

“Pauline Hocking had done it for two years when I took over, and Bronnie Limbert and Chris Johnson had also done it before that, and Pauline did it again after me.

“I took it on when Jeff was the site steward, and the next person didn’t want to do it – so I just kept doing it and it went on from there.”

Gaining a reputation as “the friendly field days”, it was a big job. It got bigger as the field days got bigger.

Meanwhile, tractor pulling had taken off as a sophisticated sport.

Tractors were crafted into mammoth machines with engines linked to engines. 

Lions member, mechanic and local farmer Tom McWaters created and built the enormous Plum Crazy. 

He linked 3V8 engines perfectly and it was timed as a V24 power house. “No two pistons fired at the same time,” Mr Davey said.

Locals had something big to barrack for as tractors from around Australia came to compete against Plum Crazy. 

Each tractor would blast into life, gearing up with an ear-splitting roar. A weighted sled was dragged as far as it would go.

But the day of noise, smoke and dust – or mud depending on the weather – did not please everyone.

“They (the competing tractors) started to cost a lot in appearance money. And, the field day (exhibitors) didn’t like it,” Mr Davey said.

“A tractor would start up and all of a sudden the person they were talking to was gone. Everyone would rush over to the tractors.

“And, it was noisy. So (any person) who stayed when the tractors started – they couldn’t hear anything anyway.”

In 1990, the Lions Club and its field day committee decided to drop the tractor pull.

As a result, more and more exhibitors wanted to be part of “the friendly field days”, and crowds continued to grow.

Eventually they grew too big for the oval and sporting fields.

The Lucindale Lions Club purchased the current site from the late Gavin and Wendy Wilson – both of whom also spent a lot of time each year helping out.

It was developed in two stages, seven years apart.

Power had to be brought in through the parklands from Gum Avenue to the transformer onsite.

 A 1.2m trench was dug, and three large cables carrying three phase power were eventually installed.

Once again, all hands were on deck for numerous working bees and Mr and Mrs Davey praised the many skill sets of members within the club and field day committee.

“We had 34 members at the time. We had concreters, builders, plumbers, an electrician, painters, trench diggers, trucks with Lucindale council help, and an excavator,” Mr Davey said.

“We built the site as a club. Then came the infrastructure, and it was all volunteers again.”

Dedicated club members worked tirelessly.

It included laser levelling the site, installing two irrigation bores and hydrants, sowing turf, building toilet blocks and sheds.

Power was installed in all the buildings along with lighting and a high quality public address system.

Today picturesque Yakka Park boasts a field of lush green grass speckled with plenty of shade trees.

The venue is so well equipped it has become a highly sought-after site for events big and small.

From birthday parties and BlazeAid base camps, to country music festivals and national caravan and camping shows, Yakka Park attracts a range of activities. Even the 2019 ABC JJJ One Night Stand.

But it is best known around the nation for staging the SE Field Days – South Australia’s largest annual field days.

Reliant on volunteers, it is also the South East region’s biggest event each year.

“We (Lucindale Lions Club members) all had young families and when we had working bees, we all went along and had a lot of fun,” Mr Davey said.

“We all built the field days and the field day site together.

“There’s just a few oldies who turn up to working bees now. But we still have fun.”

This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.

Related story: SE Field Days bounce back