WHERE in the world would you get 200 people cheering on well-muscled blokes in bright pink singlets shearing sheep as if life depended on beating the bloke from the village next door?
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Walbundrie Show, that’s where.
Inter-village rivalry is strong in these parts, perhaps just as strong as it is among the little primary schools and the Country Women’s Association branches, not to mention the footy clubs.
The Southern Riverina Strong Wool Championships staged at the show produced four winners: Jason Wingfield (open); Ryan Kirkwood (senior), Kaleb Artridge (intermediate) and Daniel Lewis (learner).
Kirkwood was judged the best local shearer as his dad, Wayne, looked on.
Four shearers took the stage at a time, egged on by a caller shouting remarks like, “C’mon, Walbundrie, push him along, watch him as he goes over the head!’’
And something that could only happen at the annual Walbundrie Show gave the shearers a break.
Kids from Walbundrie Public School aptly sang Click Go The Shears to an audience sporting anything from lovely dresses with a string of pearls to R.M. Williams tee-shirts.
Show president Max Webb said the kids had asked their teacher if they could raise funds for UNICEF by singing a song.
Over at the arts and craft pavilion, CWA branches from Jindera, Henty, Brocklesby and Munyapla showed off their skills with all things from sauces to crochet and plates of six scrumptious scones.
In the schools art competitions, Walbundrie faced challenges from Walla, Gerogery, Brocklesby but picked up a good many prizes anyway.
Hector Seidel, 83, and Arch McLeish, 82, recalled attending many of the 98 shows, though Mr McLeish reckoned he maybe missed 35 when he was doing other things like being Albury mayor.
Tradition is big at Walbundrie, so that Brocklesby-Burrumbuttock Football Club, for instance, always provides the sit-down lunches and afternoon teas.
Corowa grandmother Noreen Hogan, a regular at the show for almost 20 years, brought daughters-in-law and her grandchildren to enjoy the fun of side-show alley and see the animals.
“It’s a lovely atmosphere here and it’s a great kids’ show,’’ she said.
Dodgems and scary rides were on offer, and one inflated slide was labelled “water slide”, though the operators weren’t quite game to put any water on it.
