Page 14 - The Outdoor Showman April - June 2025

Celebrating Celebrating 180 180 Years Years
Penrith Annual Show
In 2025, the Penrith District
Agricultural, Horticultural and
Industrial Society Ltd proudly
commemorates 180 years since
its founding in 1843 – a rare and
remarkable milestone that reflects
a legacy built on community
spirit, agricultural pride, and
enduring family commitment.
The Penrith Show’s journey began on
October 7, 1843, with the formation
of the Penrith, Emu & Nepean
Agricultural Association, led by Mr
John Perry as inaugural president.
The first official Show took place in
a following February, at Tindale’s
Horneyswood Estate, showcasing
the region’s finest in ploughing,
livestock, wine, ale, tobacco, and
time-honoured favourites like jams
and preserves. Interestingly – and
with a touch of historical discomfort
– early records even mention a
competition for the “longest serving
farm or domestic (indentured)
servant to the same master,” a
reminder of the times from which
our society has grown. The festivities
concluded with an Agricultural
Dinner at the Rose Inn, with tickets
sold for just over 10 shillings.
In 1845, a motion was raised to
unite with the Windsor District to
form a joint Penrith & Hawkesbury
Agricultural Association, but records
suggest the merger never took
place. Instead, Penrith continued
to evolve, with a new organisation,
the Nepean District Horticultural,
Agricultural and Industrial Society,
formally inaugurated in on the 5th
April 1892 fulfilling the wish of J K
Lethbridge who had expressed a
desire that “A large show be held
in the area, preferably Penrith, as
it is the most central position,”
After years of operating on
borrowed land, a permanent home
was finally secured in 1909 when
the Society purchased its current
showground from Mrs Woodriff,
of the pioneering Woodriff family,
for £900. With a £250 deposit
and a £650 loan at 6.5% interest,
the grounds were established
not just for the annual show, but
as a lasting community venue.
From this strong foundation, the
Society expanded. In the early
1960s, under President Dr Maurice
Renshaw, who presided through
this transformative era, Penrith
applied for and was granted a
harness racing licence, with the
first race meeting held on April 16,
1964 – beginning a tradition that
continues weekly to this day.
Dr Renshaw also recorded in
the 1980 Annual Report that the
1980 Penrith Show was the 137th,
reflecting the Society’s founding
date in line with NSW tradition. He
cited historian Gilbert Mant, who
recognised Penrith among the
first ten agricultural societies in
Australasia, urging the district to
take its rightful place in history.
The year 1968 will also go down
in records of the society as
the year that a Show Ball was
first held on the showground.
12 THE OUTDOOR SHOWMAN