Royal Canberra Show facts for kids
The Royal Canberra Show is a big yearly event held in Canberra, Australia. It's like a huge fair that celebrates farming and country life, but it also has lots of fun rides, exciting competitions, and educational displays. People often say it's where "city meets country" and "country meets city" because it brings everyone together! The Royal National Capital Agricultural Society has been organizing this show every year since 1927.
The Story of the Royal Canberra Show
The Royal Canberra Show actually started a long time ago. Its beginnings can be traced back to the Ginninderra Farmers' Union, which was created in 1905.
At first, this union held sporting events in a place called Ginninderra. These events even included ploughing matches, which showed off farming skills! Then, in 1909, they held their very first yearly agricultural show.
These early shows stopped during the First World War. However, the 1915 event was very popular, with 1,200 people attending. It also helped raise money for the war effort. A key person behind these events, from the early days until 1944, was Harry Curran. He was a blacksmith from Ginninderra and the father of Babe Curran, a famous wool grower from Deasland.
After the war, a small local show was organized in 1924 and 1925 by the Advance Hall and District Association. The show held in 1927 is officially known as the "first" Canberra Show by the Royal National Capital Agricultural Society.
The show continued to grow bigger and better! In 1931, it became a two-day event for the first time. The 1932 show was even opened by the Prime Minister at the time, J.A. Lyons.
The show took another break during the Second World War. When it started again, it had strong support from important people like Sir Walter Merriman, who was a leading sheep breeder. In 1964, the show moved to its permanent home at the Canberra Showground. The show was given its special "Royal" status in 1979.
The number of people who enter their farm animals and other agricultural products into the competitions has grown a lot. This shows how important the Royal Canberra Show is. It helps people in the surrounding areas develop their skills and become excellent at what they do, especially in farming.
In 2012, the show celebrated the International Year of the Farmer. This highlighted the important work farmers do.
The 2021 Show was planned for late February. However, it had to be cancelled in November 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. This was the first time the show had been cancelled since World War II.
