Rebecca aiming for long-distance success in Orange’s 150th Show
Agricultural shows are a central part of the fabric of country communities, and Orange should have the best in the business, Rebecca Blandford believes.
She’s working flat-out to achieve that for the 150th edition of the local event in mid-May next year, all the way from a cattle station in north-west Queensland!
One event that the newly-minted publicity officer wants to highlight, is increasing the number of local girls interested in nominating for the Miss Showgirl quest.
A local girl herself who has travelled far, Rebecca’s love for this grand old rural institution remains true, even from nearly 2000km away.
“I’m very passionate about the Show. We all have our passions, and I guess this is one of mine… I think it’s 100 per cent that it relies on the support from the community, because it is such a real community-focussed event, that is put on for families,” she enthused.
“Doesn’t matter where the show is, that’s what a show is about, highlighting that community and putting-on something for everyone,” she added.
In the position only a few weeks, Rebecca has been bursting with ideas on how to make the Colour City’s sesquicentenary event something to remember.
“I was appointed at the AGM last month and I’ve been very busy, it seems like a long period of time,” she laughed.
“But’s it’s not totally new to me, I’ve been involved with the Show for a few years, I was secretary at one point, and I have a farming background,” she explained.
For one so young, she has certainly thrown herself into life, promoting the local agricultural show while running (with her partner) the 120,000-acre Belford Station at Julia Creek near Cloncurry.
“I’m an Orange girl, but I currently live in Queensland in the north-west on a cattle station, I originally moved up here when I was 17, moved back home, and am now back again,” the 22-year-old explained.
“I normally drive, it’s two-days, about 23 hours to get back to Orange so, obviously the Show work is mostly online” she said.
Even though she’s working-away in the tropical north on a property closer to Darwin than Sydney, she still however thinks of herself as a local girl.
“Definitely, I went to Canobolas High, and I did public speaking there, and I worked at Furneys Stockfeeds after I left school,” she explained.
She believes that the local show can and should rival other major agricultural fairs like the Bathurst Royal Show and the Dubbo Show, all it will take is commitment in the right quarters, she said.
“Absolutely, the potential is so there, ideally, we’d be looking at having the support for the Show as events like Food and Wine Week, which are great for Orange.
“We’re a beautiful region and it would be good to see that level of support,” she said.
The Show is already heading in the right direction as far as facilities — once the Achilles Heel of the local event — are concerned.
“We’ve finally got our new canteen and the refurbishment of the Naylor Pavilion, of course,” she said.
Rebecca’s love affair with agricultural shows go back to her childhood: “I imagine, I would have been about eight, with fond memories of each year going to Orange or Bathurst or even Cudal, one of the smallest shows, with my grandparents,” she said.
Rebeca believes that the livestock pavilions are still the lifeblood of the local shows and would like to see cattle, sheep, and other farm animal numbers increase over time.
“To do that, you’ve got to make sure the farmers and producers believe that it is worthwhile to make their stock ‘show ready’,” Rebecca said.
The Show’s success, she added relies on a small and dedicated band of volunteers who put in uncounted hours to make sure the event goes ahead each year.
“I’m also still on the Executive, so I’ve had a lot to do with the Show, we’re not a huge organising group, so it’s everyone hands on deck,” she said.
“But next year will be our 150th year, a very special year, and we want to do our very best to make it a success,” she said.
A young woman herself from a country background, Rebecca would love to see renewed interest in the traditional Showgirl section of the event.
“In the last few years, we really haven’t had that much interest, but we’ve got the Zone Six finals on in February 2023, and it would be great to have our own local girl in that. I’m really keen to push Ms Showgirl,” Rebecca concluded, with typical determination.