At his first meeting as councillor for the Horsham Agricultural Society, Barry Gross wore a suit and time like his colleagues. If anyone spoke, they had to stand up.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At his most recent one, people were in casual clothes and having dinner while they met on Zoom. One councillor attended while cropping in their tractor.
It's one of many examples of how much has changed in his 52 years as part of the society, of which he is now a life member.
Mr Gross and seven others were officially awarded on August 26, at that Zoom meeting. Between them, they have notched up 239 years of service to one of the city's flagship events.
"Back in those days, councillors were farmers in the area, so they would bring their tractors in to help during working bees," he recalled.
READ MORE: Wimmera Machinery Field Days cancelled
"Nowadays, there aren't so many. I wasn't a member at that stage, but I remember the toilets were emptied by two horses and a cart.
"One year, someone spooked these horses, and they ran into the river with the cart - unfortunately one of them drowned. If that happened today, and there were toilet cans bobbing around in the river, I think they would drain it from here to Jeparit!"
Mr Gross said he had always been interested in being part of the society, partly due to his pedigree.
"My father Rol was a councillor before me, and before I was a councillor I worked on the prime lamb section, which he was in charge of. He had me in there helping on each show.
NEWS FOCUS: How the Wimmera's agricultural shows survive
"Even after he died, we kept running that, but then the abattoirs in Horsham closed. You might ask what that had to do with prime lambs. Well, the entry consisted of three lambs, judged alive, before one was picked out to be slaughtered.
"It went out to the abattoirs and came back as a carcass. Some people screw their noses up at that, but lamb breeders were quite interested in that because the judge would comment on how lean it was."
Mr Gross, 79 was a fourth-generation farmer in Drung before retiring and moving to Horsham around the year 2000.
He said he'd been proud to be part of the society through its period of reinvention in recent years, during which it has hosted the German Festival, Irish Festival and New Years celebrations for extra income.
Still a fresh perspective after 20 years
There were very few people like Jill Sinclair when she became a Horsham Agricultural Society councillor in 2000.
"There was myself and Dorothy Williams, who has since passed away. We joined in the same year, and we were both on the ladies committee," she said.
"Since then, there have been a few women councillors, which has been good. It lets the council see how hard the ladies work to keep the Ag society going."
Mrs Sinclair came to Horsham from Cohuna in 1976 with her husband Norm, who came to work for the Victorian State Rivers and Water Supply Commission.
She was only meant to stay for six weeks, but Norm kept getting contract extensions, so they decided to relocate permanently a year later. She said she was proud of the work done on the ladies Pavillion since her term began.
"We've moved from the old Pavillion on the west side of the grounds and are using the old cattle shed. Usually, around showtime, it houses cakes, vegetables, home crafts and that type of thing," she said.
"We are hoping in the near future we will be able to get a new building and pristine evens centre.
"I hope to keep serving for a few more years. In the last two weeks leading up to the show, I'm usually helping out in the office and taking entries."
Mrs Sinclair, who is also president of Horsham's Red Cross unit, said she was surprised and honoured to have been made a life member.
As with the awarding of life memberships, the society's 2020 Horsham Show will be a virtual event due to the pandemic and related restrictions.
Current secretary Andrea Cross said the eight life members would be honoured again in person when it became possible to do so.
The 2020 show will take place on September 27, with competitions to be entered into and judged online.
Also honoured with life memberships on Wednesday night were:
- Max Johns, 41 years of service
- Bob Jackman, 32 years
- Ron Ticker, 29 years
- Peter Velthuis, 27 years
- Peter Jackman, 20 years
- John Barr, 18 years
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up below.
Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
