We want the farmers back!

By Elaine White

The Yea Show committee are committed to providing all the attractions of a country show for the men and women on the land! The show is well supported by young families, and our committee is striving to provide all the attractions to make a great day out for the local farmer and family.

The formidable cattle show at Yea is one of the biggest outside the Royal Melbourne and you can see all the breeds on the one day at Yea. Stud cattle come in from all over Victoria and southern New South Wales, including prominent schools’ agricultural teams from places like Findlay High School. The cattle show begins on the Friday night with the ‘heifer challenge’, which evokes keen interest from competitors as well as spectators and finishes with a barbecue and music around the campfire.

All breeds compete for championships in their own breed category as well as interbreed champions on show day. A prestigious Hoof & Hook competition always attracts keen interest and excellent prices as well as the kudos (and prize money) of winning the ‘champion carcase’.

The Northern Region Yea Cup Final of the Sheep Yard Dog Championships is also held at the show. This is a culmination of four shows – Seymour, Euroa, Alexandra and Yea – with points from each show going towards the final trials at Yea. These amazing dogs and handlers show their skills working a pen of sheep and loading them onto a trailer. Competitors come from all over Victoria and the Riverina. The trials start at 7am and frequently don’t finish until 7pm.

The Central Victoria Axeman’s Association will be back again this year featuring the 275mm Combination Victorian Championships and the 250mm Standing Block Championships as well as skilled handicap and junior events and demonstrating their chainsaw skills.

The champion fleece at Yea last year won the Regional Champion Award and now goes on to compete at the Royal Melbourne Show. If you are just about to start shearing, save a fleece for the Yea Show, with Comeback, Crossbred and Merino classes.

A 5-ring horse show includes most breeds, junior and gymkhana classes and fancy dress, and an extensive poultry show and dairy goats always draw much interest.

New enthusiastic stewards in the cookery, preserves, horticulture, crafts and photography sections have seen a resurgence in entries with many innovative ideas to ensure a spectacular showing in the pavilion. Several changes include the cookery and preserves moving to the tennis clubhouse this year and horticulture moving to the netball rooms, giving more space and light for new attractions including demonstrations and children’s hands-on activities.

A major entertainment at Yea Show this year will be ex-local Stewart Bryant and sons showing their extraordinary skills in whip cracking and horsemanship. They now perform Australia-wide at agricultural shows and many other major events.

Other attractions include a classic car display, farm machinery trade stands, a Clydesdale team, extensive local emergency services display, a schools display, Jumping J’s skipping team, line dancing displays, puppet show, animal nursery, face painting and much more. And if you need a new tractor, you can come to the Yea Show and talk to the dealers.

Yea Show is on Saturday 25 November 2023. Adult entry is $15 and concession $10. Although the day can be expensive for families with show bags and rides, the farmer can enjoy all-day entertainment for just $15 unless you decide to relax over a Devonshire tea!

Heritage machinery festival at the museum

The Alexandra Museum will come alive on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October 2023 for the Alexandra Heritage Machinery Festival to be held on the former railway precinct area in Station Street.

The festival, now in its 10th year, will showcase working vintage and antique machinery of all classes including machinery from the nearby timber industry in the Rubicon and local farms. The festival is a totally unique family experience with a remarkable showcase of steam, oil and fuel fired engines that powered the past, all displayed in a historic setting. There will be exhibitors coming from across Victoria to display and visitors can view rare agricultural and mechanical treasures from yesteryear working as they did in the past. A new addition will be a vintage cars and truck display.

Many of the exhibits include a range of smaller oil and petrol powered engines from days gone by that were once at the forefront of the development of our country.

The festival aligns with the Museum’s focus on recovering and preserving items of industrial tramway and logging machinery, with emphasis on the nearby Rubicon ranges, which was, for nearly 50 years, a centre of logging production. Over the past 30 years the museum has acquired a vast collection of industrial rolling stock and machinery items that now constitutes one of the largest machinery collections in the country.

The Alexandra Timber Tramway is a nationally accredited tourist railway which now has seven operational locomotives, including steam, diesel and petrol powered, in the collection. There is also a fleet of two carriages and a fuel wagon. Together with workshop facilities there is a two-foot gauge railway based on industrial railway standards which has been built around the station grounds.

A children’s activity area will be a real drawcard for young future heritage enthusiasts. Have your photo taken with the train crew and enjoy a platform barbecue lunch. A play area with old fashioned games will be a lot of fun for everyone and don’t forget to visit the Blacksmith’s Shop, tractor area and grab some souvenirs at the Lamp Light Kiosk.

A direct historical link with the Rubicon forest has been the restoration of the two original diesel locomotives used on the Rubicon to Alexandra timber tramway. They were the first diesel locos built in Victoria and were manufactured by Kelly and Lewis Pty Ltd, Springvale in 1935, followed by a similar model in 1936. These represent the most important extant pieces of timber tramway motive power in the state.

The museum’s collection also includes the largest private collection of Malcolm Moore locomotives in Australia. Many other items of rolling stock and machinery have been rescued from the local sawmill scrap yards. The museum collection also includes financial records of defunct local timber companies, several hundred photographs, and recorded oral histories, and logging and farming machinery that have local rural historical significance, particularly machinery used on the land. Start or finish your journey at the terminus of the Great Victorian Rail Trail at the Alexandra Museum. The trail has spectacular views and the numbers of tourists seeking a different experience is always increasing.

The Machinery Festival will be open from 9am each day with plenty of food and drink facilities.

For further information call 0427 509 988 or check out updates on the Machinery Festival Facebook page.