From watching the crowning of the best stud beef in the nation to soaking up the sights and sounds of sideshow alley, by last Friday night’s end about 30,000 people had attended the opening day of the 2016 Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) in Brisbane and an estimated 90,000 attended over the weekend.
Day one of Ekka delivered a host of highlights as tens of thousands of people basked in clear blue skies and plenty of sunshine.
Friday evening Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland and currently Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia officially opened the show in a ceremonial tradition dating back to the first show in 1876.
It certainly is a great week, the Ekka week, and what a time to catch up with so many old friends and also meet new ones.
At the Young Auctioneers competition, before the Prime Cattle sales on Friday morning, the quality of the young auctioneers was excellent, and the whole crew are to be congratulated. However, there has to be a winner and congratulations to winner Jake Smith, Landmark Roma and runner-up Lincoln McKinlay, Topex Taroom.
I was fortunate to have the Ekka RNA vice-president Angus Adnam introduce me to Queensland Agricultural Minister Leanne Donaldson, who made the presentation to the winners of the Young Auctioneers. With the Minister we also met up with Don McIntyre, adviser for the Minister.
Angus said the Minister was very enthusiastic to meet as many livestock breeders and exhibitors who attended this year’s Brisbane Ekka in record numbers.
“Peter Hayes and his team did such a superb job in handling the ‘back of house’ yard duties, replacing the Pugh family who had done such a fantastic job for so many preceding years,” he said.
This event and the following prime sale saw a large crowd of spectators; buyers and entrants view the proceedings. It was good to see the buyers keep up the top work with the good prime market.
The cattle market would be better now than ever, with top demand from domestic and overseas customers, and of course after several dry years, our herd numbers would be down, contributing to such a strong prime and store market.
Grow Queensland Gala Ball
One of the top events during show week was the Grow Queensland Gala Ball, hosted by QCL and held at the Plaza Ballroom at the Brisbane Convention Centre on Friday evening. This top event drew a great crowd of over 500. At our table we were fortunate to have in attendance Sandra McNicol and Steve Toyne, Bill Wehl and Michelle King, yours truly and Marg and Jim Bowden and Jan Tierney.
This week marks 60 years since Jim Bowden joined Queensland Country Life. In August 1956, his boss, legendary Wallace Skelsey sent him hot-footing to the RNA to collect rolls of film and show reports from the QCL office, then tucked away in a hole in the wall next to the Church of England canteen and just down from the stud cattle auctions which Jim covered a few years later. A long-time reporter at Cannon Hill, Jim joined me in rattling off some of the greats of that era – Bob Templeton, Doug Mactaggart, Clarrie Phillips, J.A.T. Heading, Wally Frood, Mark Pope, Jack Fitzsimmons, Rusty Taylor to mention just a few.
Jim went on to become chief of staff and associate editor to Wallace Skelsey and this week launched his children’s book of Bush Rhymes for Younger Minds at the QCL show office.
City Meets Country
It’s been a busy week for me over the Ekka and the fun continues. Once again this year, I was lucky enough to make it along to the Brekky Creek’s annual City Meets Country Bash.
Over 250 people attended this year’s do and the event has become one of the main parties to ‘be seen at’ the night before the Ekka.
I caught up with my good mates from Bentleys and Ray White Rural who were kind enough to extend the invitation as the evening’s hosts. It was also a prime chance to have a good yarn and a rum or two with plenty of mates who made the journey into the big smoke from the bush.
I was particularly pleased to see my good pal, Brekkie Creek general manager Sam Gullo back at the reins after his well-earned break. Sam and his team were celebrating with gusto at the Ekka sale yards earlier in the day. After missing out last year, they managed to place the winning bid on the Grand Champion Led Steer, a 426kg Hereford cross steer, exhibited by Hunda Pastoral Co. for a cool $22/kg.
They also placed the winning $3000 bid on the charity steer put up by MS.
Terry Nolan from Nolan meats placed the winning bids on behalf of the Creek. Nolans will prepare both beasts and send them off to A la Carte meats for processing.
Lucky punters will be able to taste the winning steers at the Creek's annual charity lunch on September 15. On the day another steer will be auctioned off for charity where in the past more than $40k has been raised for prostate cancer research.
On a side note, I hear that if people weren’t spotted down at the Creek’s famed Substation No.41 Rum Bar on Wednesday night, then they were seen at the opening night of Lyn Barnes’ exhibition of rural art down in the Valley. Get yourself down there as paintings are selling fast and the show will be heading back to the bush on August 14.
Personalities at Ekka
It is impossible to mention all our old mates we catch up with every year at the Ekka but they come from near and far! As an example every year we catch up with two old mates and avid QCL readers from central Victoria and NSW, Bill Grant and Brian Fleming. Bill is a cattle producer while Brian runs sheep. They said their seasons were good and now the best for three years. Driving from central Victoria, the season was excellent the Mallee, usually dry at this time is now excellent.
Once again I caught up with two prominent and popular LNP leaders, Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls, and Deb Frecklington.
From the top end, we also met up with John and Jan Nelson, Herbert Hall, Kimberley. Also across the passage, Vance and Denise Percy, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand enjoyed the Ekka with Terence Gubb, Kaikohe, New Zeland
Prominent Cloncurry district pastoralists Don and Chris McDonald were having quality time with noted cattle identity and leading philanthropist Tim Fairfax.
Also old mate John Sullivan, Sullivan Real Estate Mosman, (ex Qld agent) was leading central and northern cattleman Russel Pearson astray.
It wouldn’t be the Ekka without Blackall cattleman, Brisbane-based Jim Scully and Northern Rivers pastoralist Richard Barber, Sherwood RSL president Kevin Alcock and Bundaberg personality Maria Burnet, Bundaberg Health Services.
Oakey Beef Exports cattle train
Oakey Beef Exports Pty Ltd general manager Pat Gleeson gave me an update on the rail line facility enabling the transport of cattle from the far west to Oakey.
“Oakey Beef will have a rail unloading facility by October 2016 to accept channel country cattle that will depart from the Quilpie depot,” Pat said.
“We met with cattle producers last Saturday night in Birdsville to give them an update on the status of the trains and to make them aware that we will be able to throw our hat in the ring and quote on all mobs of cattle that the producers wish to freight via train from the end of October onwards.
“Sometime in the New Year we will be adding extra cattle loading points on the western line. This is just another part of our procurement plan to facilitate our expansion to our plant to increase production over the next few years.”
Pat said the announcement by the State Government to deepen the rail tunnels at the bottom of the Toowoomba Range had also increased their focus on stage 2 of their rail strategy, which is freight containers direct to port with further opportunities to open up for third party access.