On 5 July 1822, the inaugural meeting of the Agricultural Society of NSW was held at the residence of James Robertson, a jeweller and watchmaker of 96 George Street Sydney. This group comprised the colonial’s elite including landowners, stock owners, and merchants. It was the second agricultural society in Australia after the formation of the Van Diemen’s Land Agricultural Society (the current Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania) on 8 December 1821.
The aim of the Society was to improve New South Wales from a struggling infant colony with a population of 30,000 – half of which were convicts - by “furthering Australia’s primary production through contest and competition”. The Society established a stock fund from annual subscriptions to support the import of improved breeding stock and better agricultural knowledge through literature and education.
A few days later, on 16 July, an official Council function was held at Charles Walker’s “Red Cow” Inn, when Governor Thomas Brisbane, a patron of the Society, gave a land grant of 10 acres in Westmead (the current site of the Westmead railway station and Westmead Hospital) for a showground, as well as access to the Government Press for promotions and advertising and free stationery. ‘Upwards of 80 gentlemen, of the first rank and opulence sat down at six o’clock to a splendid dinner’ to draft the rules and regulations, later to be published in a Prospectus (from State Library of New South Wales, SLNSW website). It was recorded in the Sydney Gazette that the Society celebrated until 3am.
First show: Parramatta Fair
One of the rules was to hold an annual show on the first Thursday of October to exhibit the year's end produce and award prizes for outstanding results. The first show in October 1823 was called the “Parramatta Fair”, it was described as more of a sheep show during the meeting of the Agricultural Society at Nash's Inn. However, they reported the first show favourably in a paper aimed to persuade free settlers from England to come to N.S.W. over Tasmania.
The first recorded prize of a silver quart tankard was awarded to free settler Jonas Bradley, of Windsor Road, for 1 cwt. of tobacco on 4 February 1823.
In 1824 the real Parramatta Fair sprung into action with plenty of activities and an array of prize winning award categories for entries of produce. This includes classes for Australian Merino sheep, colonial bred bulls and heifers, stallions, boars, sows, and teams of horses and bullocks. Classes for the best colonial cheese, tobacco, and beer. Advertisements were also placed to offer people half a dollar to bring dingo tails to the Society to rid farmers of this unwanted pest.
Revival
The Society lasted until 1836 when it disbanded due to drought and economic depression. During this time many similar societies formed and then vanished. Until 1857 when the Cumberland Agricultural Society was formed in Liverpool, NSW: this Society was renamed the ‘Agricultural Society of New South Wales’, in 1859 during a meeting at William’s Hotel, Parramatta. The ASNSW held ‘Exhibitions’ and 'ploughing matches' at the new Parramatta Showground from 1860 to 1868 when it was decided the show would be moved to Prince Alfred Park in Sydney, and then Moore Park in 1882. In 1891 the ASNSW gained permission from Queen Victoria to use the ‘Royal’ prefix for the society and its shows and became the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS).
Staying connected
In 1922, there was a dispute within the RAS as to whether or not 1822 is the accurate centenary of the Society given this iteration was formed in 1857. In the end the majority, who were descendants of the original 1822 Society, won the vote and the centenary event ‘Pilgrimage to Parramatta’ was organised.
In 1994, the Sydney Royal Easter Show was relocated to Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush, NSW after approval from the NSW Government. The first Show was held there in 1998.
In 1999, the RAS re-established the link with its founding city - Parramatta, by launching the Royal Easter Show at Parramatta Mall with descendants of the founding families present as part of a heritage celebration.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Sydney Royal Easter Show was cancelled the first time since 1947 when the show was cancelled due to the Second World War (years 1942-1946) and in 1919 (during the Spanish flu outbreak).
Anne Tsang, Research Assistant with edits by Janelle Blucher, Coordinator Research and Collections
Parramatta Heritage Centre, City of Parramatta Council, updated 2021; 2013
References
- Agricultural Society of New South Wales. (1822). Prospectus, list of subscribers, and rules and regulations of the Agricultural Society of New South Wales, instituted on the 5th of July, 1822. Sydney, N.S.W.: Robert Howe, Government Printer, 1822. Available online via State Library of New South Wales, DSM/630.6/A. https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/lg5tom/SLNSW_ALMA21121224120002626 Cooke, A. & Birkl, J. (1996). Going to the show?: images and memories of Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. Sydney, N.S.W.: Greenway Gallery Hyde Park barracks Museum; Historic House Trust of NSW & Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, p. 16-25
- Fletcher, B. (1988). The grand parade: a history of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales. Paddington, N.S.W.: Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
- Mant, G. (1972). The big show. North Sydney, N.S.W.: Horwitz
- Royal Agricultural Society of NSW. (2021). Our heritage. Retrieved from https://www.rasnsw.com.au/heritage/
- Royal Australian Historical Society. (n.d.). The first agricultural show. Retrieved October 4, 2013 from http://www.rahs.org.au/history-resources/the-first-agricultural-show/
- State Library of New South Wales. (n.d.). Royal Agricultural Society of NSW. Retrieved October 4, 2013 from https://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/discover_collections/history_nation/agriculture/communities/royal_agricultural_society/index.html
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Wikipedia contributors. (2020). Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Agricultural_Society_of_New_South_Wales
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Wikipedia contributors. (2021). Sydney Royal Easter Show. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Royal_Easter_Show