Page 7 - The Outdoor Showman July-September 2022

completing the set ups for the Show
on the Friday night he joined a group
of other members for a quick beer at the local Club Hotel. “Foolishly, we
lost track of time and when several of
us decided we should go home it was already the wee hours of the morning”. As he passed the Showgrounds he noticed Mac Fawcett, a dedicated stalwart of the Show still putting the finishing touches on the displays.
Garry felt guilty and went in to ask if there was anything he could do to help. Mac gave him a paint brush and set him to work painting the new Judges Box which he had just built. “So here I was at 3 o’clock in the morning, partly affected by a few too many drinks, and needing to be back at the Showgrounds by about 6am.. and now I’m guiltily committed
to painting this bloody judges box, using only the headlights of the ute!” Needless to say that the end result was as agricultural as the Show’s name suggests. In the morning “I went over to see my handywork and much to
my horror it looked dreadful! The corrugated iron must have thrown shadows in the headlights and much of the down flutes had no paint at all, and because of the heavy dew what was painted had run. So at 6.30 I started painting again, eventually slapping a “Wet Paint” sign on the finished job.”
The Showgrounds
and Facilities
The site of the current Clunes Showgrounds was gazetted and first used in 1863. Since that time the
committee has purchased adjoining land to expand the site and over the
years infrastructure at the site has been developed and improved. Quite a number of the facilities and improvements heralded in Robert’s book have been constructed and since replaced. Prime among them is the amenities block, first used for the 1969 Show and more recently demolished to be replaced with a new facility which will see its first active service in this year’s Show. Other improvements in recent years include the construction of new pavilions for food/wine and trade displays and enclosure of the sheep pavilion, making it suitable for a range of other community events. The Society is indebted to all of the
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commercial, community and government sponsors who have supported capital acquisitions and improvements over many years.
Most recently this has included:
• The Federal Government’s Regional Ag
Shows Development Grants Program (Amenities block), with community support from the Creswick and District Community Bank, Wesley College, Waubra Wind Farm and the Central Victorian Livestock Exchange.
• Victorian Government’s A&P Grants (purchase of grand stand seating, Food and Wine Pavilion, improvements to the Homecrafts Pavilion)
• Federal Government’s Stronger Communities Program (Enclosure of the Sheep pavilion)
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