Speeches
Monday, 06 March 2023
Opening of Mundulla Agricultural, Horticultural and Floricultural Society's 113th Show
It is Rod’s and my great pleasure to be with you today in Mundulla, on what is our first official visit to your historic town, in what is an historic year!
One of the many wonderful aspects of my role as Governor is the opportunity to visit regional areas and meet people from communities across South Australia.
Although our regions are diverse, there remains a striking constant – the importance of “the show”.
Country shows are one of the most significant dates in a community’s calendar and serve as a visible symbol of a district’s pride, expertise, and resilience.
For 113 years, the Mundulla Show has offered a mix of commerce, entertainment, and education to the people of Mundulla, and the broader Tatiara community.
This year’s show is particularly important, as it is the first of the official events celebrating the 150th birthday of the township of Mundulla.
The union of the Mundulla Show and Mundulla’s milestone anniversary is a perfect one, given that country shows and the Tatiara have helped write the history of our state, and our nation’s, agricultural sector.
Your show brings together the people, the animals, and the machines that are the economic lifeblood of so many of our state’s regions.
It provides an opportunity for our farmers to showcase the results of their hard work, whether it be through competitions such as grain and fodder, meat ram lamb, or British bred Heifers.
Farmers make a vital contribution to the state’s economic and agricultural success, and the Show enables us to celebrate them.
For city dwellers such as Rod and I, the outdoor competitions, including the wool, beef cattle, and grain and fodder sections, remind us where our produce comes from.
Rod and I are particularly impressed by the extensive range of horse events at this year’s event, which we are told has attracted some 600 horses and their riders!
The show also provides young people the chance to demonstrate their skill through the broad range of competitive sections and learn more about agriculture.
I look forward shortly to presenting badges to the Rural Ambassador and hearing about youth involvement in country shows.
The fact that the Mundulla has not only continued, but grown in strength, is a great tribute to the dedicated members of the Society, and especially to the resilience of this wonderful community.
Rod and I thank the Mundulla Show society, volunteers, exhibitors, supporters, and of course, the many show-goers who will walk through the gates this weekend.
As Mundulla celebrates its 150th birthday, it is my great pleasure to declare the 113th Mundulla Show officially open.