Bellarine Agricultural Show returns

THE 31st Bellarine Agricultural Show will run in March with a solid offering of rural delights catering to people who have missed the annual institution during its three-year pandemic-enforced hiatus.

Built around this year’s theme of wood, organisers have secured a wood chopping competition and the Bellarine Vintage Machinery Group will mill timber on saw benches.

The show acts as a qualifier for several state competitions including the dog jump, horse events, handcraft, cookery and photography with this year’s exhibition themed “animals in action”.

Bellarine Agricultural Society Treasurer Rick Peacock said that while COVID had “put a dampener on so many things”, organisers were conversely excited to find out the traditional skills people had  picked up during their enforced stays at home.

“People have really gone back to what’s important, getting your hands in dirt and going back to skills parents taught us like knitting, and we’re hoping we’re going to see the fruits of people’s skills in the entries this year,” he said.

“They’ve re-engaged with the simple back to basics of living.”

Mr Peacock said the show was as relevant now as ever, given the increasing number of people living in proximity to agricultural land.

“If you look at the town boundaries now, they’re cheek and jowl with farming land, so it’s really important that there is an understanding of what rural people do, and being a part of it.

“For a lot of smaller landholders, people who are coming in buying smaller acreage, it’s a really good source of information for them, somewhere where they can go – like Landcare – and get information. It’s very much an authentic country show, a lot of the people involved work with agriculture and are the stewards of their various sectors.

“That’s our real focus, to provide a really good diverse, educational experience.”

In keeping with the times, organisers have made a concerted effort to keep costs down for punters, with tickets capped at $12.50 for adults, $7.50 for pensioners and free for children under 16.

There will also be a $10 discovery trail for children that starts with the building of a small timber carry case that will then be branded by a blacksmith, which they can carry from stall to stall picking up samples of honey from the Geelong bee keepers, fleece from the wool spinners and a ticket to be stamped on a tractor ride.

This year, tickets to the show will be presold online, with a link to a ticketing platform soon to go live via the show’s website.

For more information, volunteers or to become a member, head to bellarineshow.com.au