The 61st Barham Koondrook Show dodged the rain on Friday to put on two days of fun-filled action for the community.
Thrilling rides, live music, great food and impressive displays enticed the crowds to brave the wind and menacing clouds for the first show of the new committee. Show secretary Garry Kennedy was thrilled with the outcome.
“What a SHOW, of people and weather, both behaved well!” Said Garry.
“From the positive comments, smiles on the children’s faces, and the wind staying to a safe strength, this enabled us to hold our highlight of the evening, the fireworks, to make it another successful event.
“From the new show committee’s view on organising the annual show, it certainly was a quick learning curve and highlighted the knowledge, energy and dedication of the outgoing committee and all the other volunteers that ‘just appeared’. What a solid, unified community we live in.
“The engagement of all the schools and the buzz among the students, both young and old, was extremely encouraging, showing that our show still has a positive future.
“Our exhibits were up, especially the cut flowers as Mother Nature gave us some lovey blooms, and also the Saturday animals, hoofed and feathered, were also up, and drew a captivated crowd across all venues, which gives the exhibitors and event entry people a positive experience, knowing that all their lead up and hard work was well worth it.
“More to follow in next week’s edition. The show was a great success, because this is measured by the family atmosphere that was around all weekend, which, once again, is a reflection of our community.”
A highlight of Friday night’s action was the Quick Shear Competition sponsored by Elders Barham, Boyd’s H Hardware and MLP Firewood.
Jacob McIntosh and the Precision Shearing team battled Russell Green and his team, with Team Green taking the win. In an incredible show of generosity, both teams donated their prize money back to the show society, leading Quick Shear MC Jason Telford to offer them a round at the bar.
The trailer used for the shearing comp was borrowed from James Hipwell from Mattellah Pastoral Livestock Contracting and doubled as an excellent stage for the musical styling of Elise Drake.
Australia’s fastest ride had kids old and young grinning ear to ear, or feeling slightly nauseous, depending on who you spoke to.
The Barham SES and Koondrook Fire Brigade both had displays to promote the great work that both volunteer organisations perform in the community.
Saturday saw great weather for the horse, cattle and Show and Shine events.
After being roped in by cattle MC Bruce Bott to present the Junior Champion Heifer award, I caught up with 11-year-old Axel Miller of Lake Boga on what appeals to him in showing his cattle.
Photo: The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper
“I’ve been showing for 5 or 6 years, I like handling them and leading them.”
Axel has shown cattle all over the countryside from Adelaide to Melbourne and smaller country shows.
I did ask what the trick was to making my cattle look good, to which he replied, “standing them up.”
If four-legged friends weren’t your thing, the Show and Shine had two and four-wheeled beauties from the latest technology of supercharging an LS3 in Brandon Bohn’s licence-burning Holden Special Vehicle Maloo to the incredibly chrome-lavished Harley Street Glide of Scott Murray.
See you at next year’s show!
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 24 October 2024.
See all the pictures in the issue.