Camden Show 2023

March 25, 2023March 26, 2023 camdenhistorynotes

The show comes alive after Covid and floods

The 2023 Camden Show proves its resilience and came alive after the disasters of Covid and the 2022 floods when the show was postponed and cancelled.

Camden Show office for 2023 in the 1936 addition to the 1890s agricultural hall. The show office staff were forced out of their former office space underneath the hall due to the 2022 floods. (I Willis, 2023)

Exhibitors and competitors

The arts and crafts pavilion is a good place to start, the must-see at all country shows. On display are the hidden talents of the local area.

The talent of sugar artists is on display in the Arts and Crafts Pavillion. Some of these exhibits are true works of art. (I Willis, 2023)

A staple at all country shows are local farmers and producers who display their animals and produce. The cattle are always an interesting area to watch, and dairying has a rich history in the Camden area going back to the 1880s.

Dairying has been a staple farming activity in the Camden area for over 130 years. These dairy cattle show some of the local talent and why dairy farming has been so important in the local area for so long. (I Willis, 2023)

The produce exhibit is a snapshot of what can be grown and produced locally. Each of these products has been a vital part of the local farming scene over previous decades and in the present. For example, the apple industry was very important in The Oaks for most of the 20th century, and viticulture or growing grapes occurred across the Elderslie area for most of the last 100 years.

Apples, vegetables and other produce have been an important of the farming scene in the local area since the time of European settlement. An examination of Camden Show catalogues over the years shows the importance of these farming products for the local area. (I Willis, 2023)

The flower exhibits are always popular with show visitors, and 2023 is no exception. The flowers have moved out of the main pavilion to a more compact area and the number of exhibitors is down on previous years.

Flower exhibits at the 2023 Camden Show. This image shows the ever-popular dahlias. (I Willis, 2023)

Exhibitors are a mixture of keen amateurs and professional producers. All compete for the glory and fame that comes with first place. The cash prizes are really only pocket money, and it is the kudos that is the attraction.

A happy exhibitor who won a first with red capsicum and a highly commended with her squash and eggplants. All produce was locally grown. (I Willis, 2023)

The Show Ball and the Camden Show 2023 Young Woman of the Year

An often overlooked part of the show is the show ball and the announcement of the winner of the Camden Show 2023 Young Woman of the Year. The competition started in 1962 as the Camden Miss Showgirl and was rebranded in 1979 as the Showgirl competition. It is an excuse for the young, and not so young, folk of the area to get frocked up and enjoy themselves.

The promotional material for the annual show ball where the winner of the former Showgirl competition is announced for the following year. (CSS)

The winner of the Camden Show 2023 Young Woman of the Year competition was announced on the front page of The District Reporter.

The cover of The District Reporter, 4 November 2022, where the winner of the Camden Show 2023 Young Woman of the Year was announced. (TDR)

Camden Show promotional material

Much literature is produced at showtime; one of the most important is the show catalogue. The schedule lists all categories that competitors might want to enter with their animals, produce or crafts, the entry fees, the winning prizes and many other show time details.

The cover of the 2023 Camden Show catalogue and schedule (Camden Show Society)

Then there is the showground map which details all the exhibitors, events, show rings, entertainment, show bags, conveniences, parking and lots of other information.

The map of the 2023 Camden Show was produced by The District Reporter, and in comparison with maps of shows from earlier years, it is clear how the show has grown in size and moved into the surrounding Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park from the boundary of Onslow Park. This year the Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park is accommodating parking, horse events, the ute show, sheep, goats and alpacas, and sheep dog trials. (CSS)

One innovation this year has been the Agricultural Discovery Booklet for children. The booklet is full of puzzles, quizzes, colouring in, find-a-word, crosswords and other stuff. A great thing for the kids.

The cover of the Camden Show 2023 Agricultural Discovery Booklet (CSS)

Information stalls and exhibitors

The 2023 Camden Show has many exhibitors, including commercial enterprises, the show guild members who provide rides and entertainment, government information services, community organisations and many others.

The wonderful girls were found at the NSW Government Land Information Service exhibitor stall. These chooks were proudly standing guard over and host of information brochures and booklets and looking after the staff on duty. But these girls have their enemies and on the other side of the exhibitor stall in the corner were a number of them on display (I Willis, 2023)

Some of the enemies of the chooks look very menacing and dangerous at the NSW Government Land Information Services exhibitor stall. These feral animals are a nuisance and pest for farmers across rural New South Wales, with the fox starting to appear in the urban part of the Camden area. (I Willis, 2023)

Commercial exhibitors

The Sadek Motor Group exhibitor display shows the old and new motor cars. Displays by local motor dealers at the Camden Show has been a regular feature going back to the 1930s. This 1930s vehicle has attracted the attention of a showgoer dressed to drive away this historic specimen. (I Willis, 2023)

Exhibitors from the community

Community groups are regular exhibitors at the Camden Show, including the Country Women’s Association, Camden Historical Society, Camden Area Family History Society, Camden Hospital Women’s Auxiliary, Girl Guides, the Camden Show Society itself and many others.

The NSW Country Women’s Association is a regular participant at country shows across the state providing tea, coffee and scones for hungry showgoers. Here the Camden CWA signage is showing the 2023 Camden Show-goer the way to refresh their day with tea and scones. The women also sold a variety of other articles to assist their fundraising. (I Willis, 2023)

Show promotional liftout

Promoting the show is always essential, and The District Reporter has had their show liftout for many years. The liftout is part of the only print edition of a newspaper that still circulates in the local area and has the show’s history and many stories about show personalities, events and exhibitors.

The cover of the 2023 Camden Show liftout from *The District Reporter.* This print media has traditionally been the primary way the Camden Show Society has promoted the show over the last 130 years. (TDR)

The role of social media has increased in recent years as a way to promote the show.

This handsome specimen of an animal was used to promote the show on Facebook and Instagram in the lead-up to the 2023 Camden Show. Social media is an integral part of promoting the Camden Show in recent years. (CSS)

The show ends after another year

The show rides have ended, and it is pack-up time at the end of the 2023 Camden Show. Show guild members gather their bits and pieces, pack their rides and travel to the next country show. They will be back next year. (I Willis, 2023)

Packing up includes collecting the rubbish bins.

The bins have been emptied and are awaiting collection at the show’s end. The rides have ended, and will not be back until next year. The showground is starting to return to normality after the two-day festival of fun, frolic, entertainment and serious judging of stock, crafts and produce. Onslow Park is returning to normal. (I Willis, 2023)

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Aaron Bolot, a Sydney architect, and Camden’s Interwar heritage

October 2, 2019June 26, 2023 camdenhistorynotes1 Comment

Aaron Bolot and the agricultural hall

Interwar Camden directly connects to a noted Sydney interwar architect, Aaron Bolot. He designed the 1936 brick extensions to the Camden Agricultural, Horticultural and Industrial Hall.

Aaron Bolot, a Crimean refugee, was raised in Brisbane and worked with Walter Burley Griffin in the 1930s. He designed the extensions on the front of the former 1890s drill hall at the Camden showground.

Camden Agricultural Hall 1936 Extensions IW2019 lowres — The 1936 extension to the Camden Agricultural Hall was designed in the same style as the 1933 Memorial Gates adjacent to the building works. (I Willis, 2019)

Bolot worked for Sydney architect EC Pitt, who supervised the construction of the new showground grandstand in 1936 and agricultural hall extensions (Camden News, 19 September 1935).

The work of Aaron Bolot and many other Sydney architects is found in photographer Peter Sheridan’s Sydney Art Deco. Sheridan has created a stunning coffee table book highlighting Sydney’s under-recognised Art Deco architectural heritage. The breadth of this Interwar style covers commercial and residential buildings, cinemas and theatres, hotels, shops, war memorials, churches, swimming pools and other facets of design.

Peter Sheridan Sydney Art Deco Cover lowres — Cover of Peter Sheridan’s Sydney Art Deco (2019)

Sheridan argues that Aaron Bolot was an influential Sydney architect during the Interwar period specialising in theatres and apartment buildings.

Bolot’s work at Camden was a simple version of the more complex architectural work that he was undertaking around the inner Sydney area, for example, The Dorchester in Macquarie Street Sydney (1936), The Ritz Theatre in Randwick (1937), the Ashdown in Elizabeth Bay (1938) and other theatres.

Peter Sheridan Sydney Art Deco ABolotRitzRandwick lowres — The Ritz Movie Palace at Randwick, designed by Aaron Bolot in Peter Sheridan’s Sydney Art Deco (2019)

The 1936 extensions to the agricultural hall

The brick extensions to the agricultural hall were general improvements to the showground, and works were finished in time for the 1936 jubilee show. The report of the show stated:

The new brick building in front of the Agricultural Hall, erected in commemoration of the jubilee, proved a wonderful acquisition, and its beautiful external appearance was, only a few days before the show, added to ‘by the erection of a neat and appropriate brick and iron fence joining that building with the Memorial Gates, * and vastly, improving the main pedestrian entrance to the showground. The fitting of this new room withstands and fittings for the exhibition of ladies’ arts and crafts, was another outlay that added to the show’s attraction. (Camden News, 2 April 1936)
(Camden News, 2 April 1936)

The hall extensions were designed like the memorial gates erected in 1933 in memory of GM Macarthur Onslow (d. 1931) and paid for by public subscription. It was reported that they would add ‘attractively to the Showground entrance’. (Camden News, 19 September 1935)

Camden Agricultural Hall 1990 JKooyman CIPP — Camden Agricultural Hall and Memorial Gates 1990 JKooyman (Camden Images)

The hall extensions were 50 feet by 23 feet after 5 feet were removed from the front of the former drill hall. A central doorway was to be a feature, and there would be a ‘main entrance porch leading directly to the big hall on the Onslow Park side of the building’. (Camden News, 19 Sept 1935)

The hall extension cost £400 (Camden News, 19 March 1936) and was to be built to mark the 1936 Jubilee Show (50^th anniversary). It was anticipated that the new exhibition space could be used for the

ladies’ arts and crafts section, such as needlework, cookery; be used for the secretary’s office prior to the show; a meeting place for committees; and in addition provide a modern and up to date supper room at all social functions. (Camden News, 19 September 1935).
(Camden News, 19 September 1935)

The approval of the scheme was moved at the AH&I meeting by Dr RM Crookston, seconded by WAE Biffin, and supported by FA Cowell. The motion was unanimously carried out by the meeting. The committee agreed to seek finance from the NSW Department of Labour and Industry at 3% pa interest. (Camden News, 19 September 1935)

Camden’s Interwar Heritage

The 1930s in the small country town of Camden had a building boom in Argyle Street and central Camden. The Interwar period witnessed the construction of several new commercial and residential buildings driven by the booming Burragorang Valley coalfields. The period was characterised by modernism and other Interwar building styles. The list of buildings from the 1930s includes:

1930, Former Flats, 33 Elizabeth Street, Camden.

c.1930, Cottage, 25 Elizabeth Street, Camden.

1933, Former Paramount Theatre, 39 Elizabeth Street, Camden.

Paramount Movie Theatre Camden c1933 CIPP — Paramount Movie Theatre, Elizabeth Street, Camden built in 1933. (Camden Images)

1933, Camden Inn (Hotel), 105-107 Argyle Street, Camden.

1935, Former Cooks Garage, 31-33 Argyle Street, Camden

c.1935, Former Main Southern Garage, 20-28 Argyle Street, Camden

1935, Methodist Parsonage, 24 Menangle Road, Camden.

1936, Front, AH&I Hall, 191-195 Argyle Street, Camden

1937, Dunk House, 56-62 Argyle Street, Camden

Dunk House, Argyle Street, Camden c.1937 (I Willis 2013) — Dunk House, 52-62 Argyle Street, Camden c.1937 (I Willis 2013)

1937, Former Bank of New South Wales (former Westpac), 121-123 Argyle Street, Camden.

1937, Former Rural Bank, 115-119 Argyle Street, Camden.

1937, Cottages, 24-28 Murray Street, Camden.

1939, Former Stuckey Bros Bakery, 104-106 Argyle Street, Camden

Stuckey Bros Building (I Willis 2012) — The former Stuckey Bros Bakers building at 104-106 Argyle Street Camden c1941 (I Willis 2012)

1939, Camden Vale Inn, Remembrance Drive (Old Hume Highway), Camden.

1939, Extension, Camden Hospital, Menangle Road, Camden.

Updated 26 June 2023. Originally posted on 2 October 2019 as ‘A Sydney architect with a Camden connection’.

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The Camden Story: living history on our doorstep

February 4, 2019May 2, 2023 camdenhistorynotes4 Comments

Experience living history in the local area

There is the opportunity to experience real living history on your own doorstep.

Living history is all around you. You just need to take a deep breath, pause for a moment and listen to the history around you speak to you.

camden st johns vista from mac pk 1910 postcard camden images — Vista of St John’s Church from Macarthur Park in 1910. Postcard. You can still view this vista near the showground from the town’s fringe. (Camden Images)

Camden living history

In the town centre of Camden, the historic precinct’s buildings and ambience speak to you if you pause and listen.

They are all part of the Camden story.

The Camden living history reveals the intricacies of telling the Camden story.

The Camden town centre and its multi-layered history are evident in the many different building styles as you walk along the main street.

If walls could talk, they would tell an exciting story that would immerse you in the past and present. They would provide a gripping account of the central characters in the stories.

Camden CHS 231 Macaria c. 1890 — The Camden Grammar School was located in Macaria in the 1890s. Macaria is open to the public and is the home of the Alan Baker Art Gallery located at 37 John Street, Camden. (Camden Images)

Living history is storytelling

Living history allows participants to read the layers of history of an area.

Living history is like peeling off layers of paint from a wall when viewers peel back the layers of history of a site, building or place. Each layer has a special meaning – a special presence.

Lived experience leads to storytelling which is genuine and authentic.

Storytelling creates the meaning of the past and the characters of the past in the present. It allows the past to speak to the present. Storytelling and stories are at the essence of place.

The living history movement

Living historian Scott Magelssen maintains that living history museums ‘engage strategies in their performance of the past’, claiming to be ‘real history by virtue of their attention to detail’. (pp. xii-xv)

One of the early influencers of the living history movement in North America was Henry Ford who established his indoor and outdoor living museum experience in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn in Michigan, USA. Henry Ford said of his museum.

I am collecting the history of our people as written into things their hands made and used…. When we are through, we shall have reproduced American life as lived, and that, I think, is the best way of preserving at least a part of our history and tradition…

camden st_johns_church02 — St John’s Anglican Church Camden 2018. You can visit the historic St John’s church and precinct in central Camden. The church was built in the 1840s and funded by the Macarthur family. (I Willis)

The Camden story

The Camden story is the tale of the local area.

Camden storytellers peel back the layers of the history of the town and district and reveal the tales of local identities, larrikins, characters, rascals, ruffians and ratbags.

There are several layers to the Camden story, and they are

Pre-European period of the Indigenous Dharawal people when they called the area Benkennie
The Cowpastures were named by Governor Hunter in 1795, and the establishment of the Cowpastures Government Reserve. Under European control, the Indigenous Dharawal people were dispossessed and displaced from their country. The Macarthur family’s Camden Park Estate started with the 1805 grant to John Macarthur.
The Camden township was established as a private venture of the Macarthur family in 1840. The streets were named after its founders – Macarthur, Elizabeth, John, and Edward.
The English-style Camden town centre has evolved and is represented by several historical architectural styles since 1840 – Victorian, Edwardian, Inter-war, and Mid-20th century. The town was the hub of the Camden District between 1840 and 1970s
The Macarthur region (1970s +), named after the famous local Macarthur family, grew as part of Sydney’s rural-urban fringe. It is made up of Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly Local Government Areas.

Camden Show Bullock Team 2018 MWillis — The bullock team walking up John Street for the 2018 Camden Show. Bullock teams were once a common sight in the Camden area before the days of motorised transport. The teamster monument in John Street celebrates theie role in the history of the district. Visit the Camden Show. (M Willis)

Immerse your imagination in the past at the Camden Museum through living history.

The Camden museum tells the Camden story through displays of artefacts, objects, memorabilia and other ephemera by using a living history approach.

The displays tell a story of an earlier period and allows visitors to immerse themselves in the past in the present.

Map Camden District 1939[2] — Map of the Camden district in 1939 showing the extent of the area with Camden in the east. The silver mining centre of Yerranderie is in the west. (I Willis, 1996)

Walking the past through living history

Visitors to Camden can walk through the town centre and imagine another time. A time past that can be recalled through living history.

A self-guided walking tour lets visitors explore the living history of the Camden town centre. There is a pdf brochure here.

Check out Camden’s main street with its Victorian, Edwardian and interwar ambience and charm. See where the locals met on sale day at the Camden saleyards or the annual country festival at the Camden show.

Camden Show 2018 promo — The Camden Show is an annual celebration of things rural in the township of Camden for over 100 years. The show is held each year in the Onslow Park precinct. (Camden Show)

The Heritage Tourism website boasts that Camden – The best preserved country town on the Cumberland Plain NSW.

The mysteries of the cute little locomotive that used to run between Camden and Campbelltown via Currans Hill, Narellan, Elderslie, Kirkham and Graham’s Hill are also explored in a post called The glory of steam, Pansy, the Camden tram.

Maybe you would like to revisit the farming glory days of the 1800s at one of Australia’s most important living history farms at Belgenny Farm.

Camden Belgenny Farm 2018 sign — The signage at the entrance to the Belgenny Farm complex at Camden NSW. Visitors are welcome. (I Willis, 2018)

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Local agricultural bureau takes major prize at Camden Show

November 21, 2018 camdenhistorynotes

Menangle Agricultural Bureau

While I was visiting a historical contact at Menangle I was shown a framed photograph of a winning display in the district exhibition at the 1937 Camden Show. The photograph was bordered by the prize winning ribbon from the Camden AH&I Society awarded to the Menangle Agriculture Bureau. The photograph peaked my interest as I was not familiar with the local agricultural bureaux. A search in the archive files at the Camden Historical Society including those the Camden Show Society yielded light on the matter either.

So what happened at the 1937 Camden Show.

The Menangle Agricultural Bureau took out a first prize at the 1937 Camden Show in the district exhibit. The bureau had entered its agricultural display of fruit, vegetables and other produce. The Camden News reported the display was constructed with over 3000 apples. The Menangle Agricultural Bureau won against stiff competition from the Mount Hunter Agricultural Bureau. The only other competitor in that category.

So what is an agricultural bureau? When did they appear in the Camden district?

Agricultural bureaus were established in New South Wales in 1910 as an initiative of the New South Wales Department of Agriculture, according to the State Archives and Records of NSW.

The aims of the agricultural bureaux were to ‘connect with young rural people’. They were ‘to deliver lectures and demonstrations and special instructions to farmers, and to promote fellowship and social networks within rural communities’.

The bureaux appear to be one of a number of organisations that were part of an organised youth movement within the British Empire set up during the Edwardian period.

The State Archives maintains that the stated aims of the agricultural bureau movement fitted the general imperial youth movement of the time. In NSW ‘the main functions of the Bureau were to promote rural and adult education, to organise co-operative group effort to improve facilities, to train people in citizenship, leadership, and community responsibility’.

There was an anxiety amongst the ruling elites of the British Empire about the state of youth and there was a concerted campaign to inculcate the values of thrift, diligence and obedience. During the Edwardian period the youth movement spawned a number of youth organisations including Boy Scouts, Boys Brigade, Girl Guides, and a host of others. These organisations have been seen by some historians like Michael Childs Labour’s Apprentices as agents of patriotism, obedience and social passivity.

The agricultural bureaux were a farmer-controlled self-governing body which could received extension services from the NSW Department of Agriculture. They were apolitical and non-sectarian.

The state government kept firm control of the new organisation through the NSW Department of Agriculture initially provided lectures through the Department’s District Inspectors of Dairying and Agriculture. The state government went further and provided a subsidy to the bureaux members at the rate of 10/- per pound. In addition council members were reimbursed their expenses for attending meetings.

The activities of the early agricultural bureaus on the Camden district seem to indicate that the bureaus were less of a youth organisation and more of an adult farming group and included activities for the entire family.

One of the earliest agricultural bureaus to be established in the Camden area was at Orangeville around 1913.

The Camden News reported in April that members of the bureau were keen to gain all the scientific knowledge to develop their orchards. They had tried explosives in their orchards as a means of improving ‘sub-soiling’, initially under the trees and then next to the trees. The results of the experiment would not be known, it was reported, until the trees started to bare fruit.

In October 1913 the Orangeville Agriculture Bureau organised a picnic. Mr J Halliday organised the festivities for the ‘ladies and children’. There were 70 children present and prizes were organised for a number races and a competition amongst the ladies organised by Mr RH Taylor. The proceedings were livened up by Mr Joseph Dunbar on the gramophone. A tug-of-war was organised between the single and married men. Councillor CG Moore captained the married men and Mr AL Bennett ‘led the bachelors’. The married men won. Both men were candidates in the upcoming Nepean Shire elections. A short political address was given by Mr WG Watson, which was followed by games until sunset. Mr Taylor, the vice-chairman, thanked everyone for coming and stressed the advantages of becoming a member of the bureau.

A women’s extension service was organised within the body. The bureaus organised farmer training courses, while the women’s extension service organised domestic training courses. The agricultural bureaus were affiliated with a range of other rural organisations including the Bush Nursing Associations, The Rural Youth Organisation and a number of farming organisations.

The local agricultural bureaux disappeared after the Second World War, while the organisation carried on at a state level into the 1970s.

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A country show comes to town

March 16, 2018March 25, 2023 camdenhistorynotes

The country show festival for 2018

The country comes to the city, or the city’s fringe, at least when the 2018 Camden Show comes alive.

Camden Show 2018 Flowers — The flower exhibits are in the Arts and Crafts section of the 2018 Camden Show. The exhibit was located in the 1890s Camden Show Pavilion and is an ever-popular part of the annual event. (I Willis)

The Camden Show is on again in 2018, and this year makes 132 years. The two-day event attracts around 30,000 visitors to the sleepy community of Camden on the Nepean River in what were the Cowpastures.

Camden Show 2018 Aerial BAtkin low res — An aerial view of the 2018 Camden Show shows the historic Camden town centre at the top of the image. Onslow Park, Camden Showground, was gifted to the Camden community by the Macarthur family of Camden Park in the early 20th century. (B Atkins)

The country festival has all the events you expect of a large regional show, from horses to pumpkins to cakes to produce.

Camden Show 2018 Produce — 2018 Camden Show Produce display (I Willis)

A more traditional sideshow alley exists for the Mums, Dads, and kids with the Dagwood Dogs and show bag row.

For those searching for the country flavour, that is the drovers camp, milking display, pig-racing and ever-popular rodeo.

Camden Show 2018 Rodeo BAtkins lowres — A rodeo is an ever-popular event at the 2018 Camden Show. Full of action and colour on Friday night. The cowboys proved that they were just as tough as the bulls. Have a great night. (B Atkins)

There are all the commercial stands you get at any country show, from the local tractor dealer to rainwater tanks and stock agents.

Not to be left out are all the community groups, from the scout’s rope construction to the CWA’s scones and cream.

Camden Show 2018 CWA — 2018 Camden Show CWA Stall (I Willis)

The local politicians want to shake your hands and get your vote.

There is a ute competition and dog championships with the general show exhibitions.

The show spills into the general town area with a shop window display and 2018 Camden Showgirl.

Camden Show 2018 Daryl Sidman Corrine Fulford IWillis — Two top local identities at the 2018 Camden Show. Daryl Sidman was a show steward for many years, a local businessman, and Corrine Fulford Miss Camden Showgirl 2018. They both posed for this photo in the entry of the 1890s Show Pavilion. (I Willis)

A crowd gathered in the main street for the bullock team, just like the old days when teamsters came up from the Burragorang Valley to Camden Railway Station.

The rodeo and bull rides are all promoted with the slogan ‘Still a Country Show’.

Learn more about the Camden Show

Showtime in Camden

Camden Showgirl an enduring anachronism

2010 Camden Showgirl Competition

Young Woman trumps the Camden Showgirl

The Camden Show Sponsors Night comes alive in Covid

Updated 22 March 2023. Originally posted on 16 March 2018.

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Showtime in Camden 2014

March 22, 2017March 25, 2023 camdenhistorynotes5 Comments

The show is a popular annual rural festival

The annual festival of farming returns to the Camden Showground at the end of March again. The show has been the most crucial country festival in the district for over 100 years. In 2019 the show attracted over 40,000 visitors and was a huge success.

In the early days, it was a celebration of agricultural modernism. By the inter-war period, it had matured into a permanent part of the local landscape.

The Second World War and the poor state of the show’s finances saw the show disappear for the duration of the conflict. It is now more vital than ever and not to be missed.

Histories of the Camden Show

There have been two histories produced of the Camden Show. The first was on the show’s centenary in 1986 and written by local identity Dick Nixon from the Camden Historical Society.

Cover Dick Nixon’s Camden Show History was produced on the centenary in 1986. (I Willis)

The second history of the Camden Show was written by Neville Clissold on the 125 anniversary of the show in 2011.

Cover of the 125-anniversary edition of the Camden Show written by Neville Clissold. (I Willis)

Camden Show 1890s

The early years of the Camden Show were big community events when everyone came to town.

Panorama of the Camden Show in the 1890s. One of the most significant changes in the grandstand on the opposite side of the show ring that burnt down in the early 20th century. A new grandstand was built on the left-hand side of the ring in this image. The current show pavilion is on the opposite side of the show ring. St John’s church is centre rear of the hill, and there is an absence of trees that now mark this same view from behind the current sports club. (Camden Images)

Guess who you meet at the show?

The NSW Premier

It is amazing who you bump into at the Camden Show. Historical society volunteers John Wrigley OAM, Bettie Small PHF and Len Channell, with Peter Hayward in the background, greeted the Premier of New South Wales, the Hon. Barry O’Farrell, the Member for Camden, Mr Chris Patterson, MP, and Camden Mayor, Clr Lara Symkowiak.

The dignitaries just walked into the pavilion to look at the arts and crafts put in by competitors and who they should meet but the enthusiastic members of the historical society. The encounter didn’t phase society members; they took it all in their stride. Usually, volunteers just meet friends they have not seen since last year’s show. Meeting the NSW Premier was a real surprise.

The historical society has been fortunate to have a stall in the show pavilion for many years. It has been located in amongst the cakes, flowers, sewing, knitting and other rural crafts. The stall sells the latest publications, takes new memberships and renewals, and answers many local history questions.

Camden Show with the Camden Historical Society stall amongst the arts and crafts displays. Special guests Mr OFarrell Premier NSW and Member for Camden Mr C Patterson and Mayor L Symkowiak. Camden Historical Society John Wrigley OAM, Bettie Small and Len Channell, with Peter Hayward (I Willis, 2014)

Mud and Slush in 2014

The 2014 Camden Show featured mud and storms as a special event. It rained on Friday afternoon with a thunderstorm that arrived around 4.00 pm from the southwest. It caught many people unaware and created a mud bath in many parts of the showground. It dumped about 15 mm in about an hour.

On Saturday morning, show officials were putting down woodchips over the worst patches and straw on other patches. Patrons who wore boots were well prepared to walk around in the mud. On Saturday, there was a steady rain from about 4.00 pm with a short storm that came in over the Burragorang Valley and Southern Highlands and provided drizzle around right through the fireworks.

Camden Show in 2014 on Saturday morning after a heavy rain shower on Friday afternoon. (I Willis, 2014)

2014 Camden Show

The 2014 Camden Show was the usual lively affair, and this showground map illustrates the range of events and activities.

2014 Camden Show schedule of events flyer (Camden Show Society)

2014 Camden Show programme schedule of events flyer (Camden Show Society)

Show Merchandise 2013

This is the price list for show merchandise in 2013. Did you buy your tie?

Merchandise available for sale at the 2013 Camden Show (Camden Show Society)

Camden Showgirl

The Showgirl competition is, in many ways, an anachronism from the past. It has survived for over 45 years under the onslaught of feminism, post-modernism, globalization and urbanisation. A worthy feat indeed.

The competition is still popular, and the local press is always a strong supporter. Showtime, the show ball and Miss Showgirl are representatives of notions around Camden’s rurality.

People use the competition as a lens through which they can view the past, including the young women who enter it. In 2008 Showgirl Lauren Elkins ‘was keen’, she said, ‘to get into the thick of promoting the town and its rural heritage’.

Camden people yearned for a past when the primary role of the town was to service the surrounding farmers and their needs. Miss Showgirl is part of the invocation of rural nostalgia.

Miss Camden Showgirl (1962-1978)

1962 Helen Crace
1963 Helen Crace
1964 Sue Mason
1965 Barbara Duck
1966 Dawn Dowle
1967 Jenny Rock
1968 Heather Mills
1969 Michelle Chambers

1970 Joyce Boardman
1971 Anne Macarthur-Stanham
1972 Kerri Webb
1973 Anne Fahey
1974 Sue Faber
1975 Janelle Hore
1976 Jenny Barnaby
1977 Patsy Anne Daley

1978 Julie Wallace

Camden Showgirl (1979-2014)

1979 Sandra Olieric

1980 Fiona Wilson
1981 Louise Longley
1982 Melissa Clowes
1983 Illa Eagles
1984 Leanne Reily
1985 Rebecca Py
1986 Jenny Rawlinson

1987 Jayne Manns

1988 Monique Mate
1989 Linda Drinnan
1990 Tai Green
1991 Toni Leeman
1992 Susan Lees
1993 Belinda Bettington
1994 Miffy Haynes
1995 Danielle Halfpenny
1996 Jenianne Garvin
1997 Michelle Dries

1998 Belinda Holyoake
1999 Lyndall Reeves
2000 Katie Rogers
2001 Kristy Stewart
2002 Margaret Roser
2003 Sally Watson
2004 Danielle Haack
2005 Arna Daley
2006 Victoria Travers
2007 Sarah Myers
2008 Fiona Boardman
2009 Lauren Elkins
2010 Adrianna Mihajlovic
2011 Hilary Scott

2012 April Browne

2013 Isabel Head

2014 Jacinda Webster

RAS Young Woman of the Year (2019+)

In 2019 the Royal Agricultural Society re-branded the RAS Showgirl Competition as the RAS Young Woman of the Year. The first Camden Show, Young Woman of the Year, was awarded as the Camden Show 2023 Young Woman of the Year.

A display on the history of the Camden Show with various items, including ribbons, newspaper publicity and trophies. These items indicate the breadth of awards used to acknowledge excellence at the show. All part of the temporary display created by Jason Sharpe at the 2021 Camden Show sponsors’ event. (I Willis)

Updated 22 March 2023. Originally posted 17 March 2017.

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Camden Showgirl, an enduring pageant

February 28, 2014March 17, 2023 camdenhistorynotes5 Comments

A rural anachronism

The Showgirl (formerly Miss Showgirl) competition is, in many ways, an anachronism from the past. It has survived for over 45 years under the onslaught of feminism, postmodernism, globalization and urbanisation. A worthy feat indeed.

The competition is still popular and the local press is always a strong supporter. The 2010 Camden Showgirl competition attracted seven young women.

Camden Show Signage 2018 — The Camden Show attracts over 40,000 people to the two-day festival in the country town of Camden. (I Willis)

So what has been the continuing appeal of the competition? Probably the most important criteria have been that it has been faithful to its aims of promoting rural interests. The competition has always been associated with the significant rural festival, the country show, celebrating rural life.

Showtime, the show ball and Showgirl are representatives of notions around Camden’s rurality. People use the competition as a lens through which they can view the past, including the young women who enter it. In 2008 Showgirl Lauren Elkins ‘was keen’, she said, ‘to get into the thick of promoting the town and its rural heritage’. Camden people yearned for a past when the primary role of the town was to service the surrounding farmers and their needs. Miss Showgirl is part of the invocation of rural nostalgia.

The winning showgirl projects the values and traditions of the local community, according to Suzie Sherwood, a member of the organizing committee in 2004. She said, ‘the winner will have a strong connection with the community and be aware of rural issues’.

The organising committee seems successful at identifying entrants who have a sense of belonging to the local area. After winning the 2009 Camden showgirl competition, Adriana Mihajlovic said, ‘I will tell people that Camden is a beautiful rural country town with a wonderful community’. 2004 Miss Camden Showgirl Danielle Haack said, ‘Camden is a lovely country town and I am proud that I can be involved in promoting it to other districts’. The showgirl competition connects the country town to the city. The entrant acts as a publicity agent for the Camden Show, one of Australia’s largest regional shows.

The resilience of the showgirl competition can also be put down to its representation of the changes in rural life and rural women themselves. It is a mirror of the expectations and aspirations of young women. 2010 entrant Karina Ralstan said, ‘She sees it as an opportunity to raise issues concerning rural women’. 2004 Miss Camden Showgirl Danielle Haack felt the competition was an opportunity to raise rural issues, and all 2010 entrants were concerned about promoting the importance of agriculture.

Part of the success of the competition in Camden has been its ability to attract young women who want to make a living in the agricultural sector. University of Sydney veterinary science student Danielle Haack said she tried to ‘improve the quality of cattle’ and her studies will help her in animal genealogy and herd health. 2010 entrant Brooke Mulholland is an owner/manager of a Suffolk sheep stud.

The showgirl competition is a relic of a time when gender expectations stated that rural women were confined by home and family. Today’s young women want a career and travel. Something that the Miss Showgirl competitions have supplied. In 2004 the grand prize at the Royal Easter Show was a world trip for two, and Camden’s representative Danielle Haack certainly felt that ‘a world trip would be a lovely end-of-year treat for me once I finish my degree’.

Miss Camden Showgirl for 2018 in the Australia Day Parade on the float for the Camden Show. (I Willis)

The competition has allowed entrants to fully experience showtime in Sydney. The annual city visit can be a big deal for those who experience it. 2002 Miss Showgirl Margie Roser stated that staying in Sydney was one of her life’s best times. She said her time in Sydney was ‘full of social engagements, media coverage and cocktail parties’. The party element is not ignored at a local level, and the annual Camden show ball is an occasion to ‘frock up’. 2004 Camden Miss Showgirl Sally Watson said, ‘The ball was great fun’.

Over the years, showgirls have found that the competition has been good for making friends, personal development and new experiences. 2003 Camden Showgirl Sally Watson said, ‘the experience was rewarding. It is a wonderful chance to network and meet many other like-minded young women’.

Yet showgirl competitions have not been without their critics. The competition has survived in New South Wales and Queensland while not in Victoria. Some have seen it as daggy, while some have seen it as the commodification of women. The entrants defend the competition. Danielle Haack maintained that the contest ‘was anything but a beauty pageant. Some of my friends have asked me how the swimsuit category was going, but it’s nothing like that’.

The competition and the strong field of entrants are a testament to the ongoing popularity of the Camden Show and its representation of Camden’s rurality.

Updated 17 March 2023. Originally published 28 February 2014.

The show comes alive after Covid and floods

Exhibitors and competitors

The Show Ball and the Camden Show 2023 Young Woman of the Year

Camden Show promotional material

Information stalls and exhibitors

Commercial exhibitors

Exhibitors from the community

Show promotional liftout

The show ends after another year

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Aaron Bolot and the agricultural hall

The 1936 extensions to the agricultural hall

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Experience living history in the local area

Camden living history

Living history is storytelling

The living history movement

The Camden story

Immerse your imagination in the past at the Camden Museum through living history.

Walking the past through living history

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Menangle Agricultural Bureau

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The country show festival for 2018

Learn more about the Camden Show

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The show is a popular annual rural festival

Histories of the Camden Show

Camden Show 1890s

Guess who you meet at the show?

The NSW Premier

Mud and Slush in 2014

2014 Camden Show

Show Merchandise 2013

Camden Showgirl

RAS Young Woman of the Year (2019+)

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A rural anachronism

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