2018 Recap
Written by Brigitte Daley
Huge crowds poured in to contribute to a highly successful 2018 Dairy Farmers Malanda Show. Now in its 102nd year the show has been powering on from strength to strength with Sunday seeing an all-time record number of people through the gate. Particularly noticeable were the many people who visited our region from the coast to enjoy a top 3 days of great entertainment!
The huge appeal of the Dairy Farmers Malanda Show is that it is a family orientated agricultural show. New to this year’s show was the ‘Children’s Map’ which was loved by both children and adults alike. Especially popular this year was the dairy section with large numbers of visitors streaming through the dairy pavilion.
Eleven-year-old showgoer Jordan Payne had tonnes of fun at the show and said she liked the dodgems and the whizzer the best. “Patting the goats was fun too!” she said in reference one of the show’s newest sections.
The Friday night Street Parade kick-started the show and was enjoyed by many fans lining the streets. Congratulations to Dairy Queen Emily Bowden, Runner-up Hannah Rose-Newton and Dairy Princesses Rebecca Payne and Catherine English who carried on their official roles into this year. Congratulations to Float winner Tropic Distributors with their Tropic Fun Farm.
This year’s show saw a record number of animals on the grounds. There were record numbers of stud beef cattle and the largest showing of poultry ever seen. As well, there was a strong showing of dairy and beef cattle. The Malanda Show has a firmly established reputation for being one of Australia’s premier dairy cattle shows. A new display this year was the goat display with plans to grow this highly popular section in the future. So watch out for them next year!
Showgoers enjoyed the equestrian ring events, ever popular woodchops, Saturday night’s magnificent fireworks as well as special entertainment over the 3 days of the show. Side show alley and the bar proved to be fantastic locations to catch up with old friends and to make new ones! As always, the animal nursery proved to be a big hit and there were food stalls galore.
On Sunday the Farmers Challenge proved to be a huge success. Winning teams were Mud Rats and Full Ball (Junior team). They performed the required tasks admirably. These included getting dressed into work clothes, sculling milk (with provisions made for the lactose intolerant!), raking hay, connecting poly pipe, removing a star picket, and collecting eggs before sprinting to the finish line at a supersonic speed while competitors attempted to keep their egg intact rather than in an omelette form!
The Dairy Farmers Celebrity Milking Competition once again proved to be an annual favourite and enjoyed enthusiastic participation. Emily Bowden emerged victorious as the winner and donated her winning amount to the Malanda Men’s Shed.
The Malanda Show Society was extremely pleased with the high quality and quantity of the Hall Exhibits, with the Beer Brewing Competition being re-introduced this year. “The Show society would like to thank all stewards, judges, volunteers, community groups and most importantly exhibitors for their contributions. It really is a community event!
As the manager, I’d like to personally thank the committee for their support and guidance with my first Malanda Show. Planning is now underway for 2019,” Kate Stokes said.