QUOTE: “You just can’t get people to stop and look at the cattle now. People don’t appreciate the country atmosphere”
PRECEDE: The Dandenong Show has been part of Graeme Kershaw’s life for the past 50 years. The Berwick resident spoke to CASEY NEILL about his role in the cattle ring at the annual event and his life as a stock and station agent.
STORY:
Graeme Kershaw’s employer roped him in to help out at the Dandenong Show.
He and wife Joy moved to Dandenong for his job with Alex Scott and Co in 1966.
“Of course, Mr Scott and other staff members were members of the show committee,” he said.
“Therefore I was roped in.
“I’d been involved with other shows, so I knew what was going on.
“But the Dandenong Show, of course, was much larger, than what I had experienced before.
“I was put onto the cattle committee. That’s where I stayed, actually.”
The 82-year-old has been to every show since and has no plans to stop.
“I’ll always attend,” he said.
Greaves Reserve will host this year’s show on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 November.
“The first show I attended was when there was a lot of cattle shown, of all different breeds,” Graeme said.
“I don’t know how many actual numbers were there, but there was always a lovely display of well-bred cattle.
“They had the dairy section, the dairy cattle and the beef cattle.
“The dairy cattle were on the Saturday and the beef cattle were on the Sunday.
“Over the years the number declined so they combined the two, the dairy cattle and the beef cattle, on the one day, Saturday.”
Graeme said farmers presented male and female cattle to the judges.
“They’re judged on their breed, the quality of the cattle,” he said.
“Each breed has different aspects to how they’re formed, and that’s about it.”
Today there are about 30-odd beef cattle entered, “and dairy cattle has declined no end, I’d say about 20”.
“They come from the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley and Gippsland – Warragul, Pakenham, Wonthaggi,” he said.
“You see the very best of each breed of cattle.
“We’re very fortunate that we always have a quality show of cattle.
“That’s been all the way along, year after year.”
In the beef cattle, angus is his favourite.
“I think they’re a very good breed,” he said.
“They’re well sought-after with the overseas markets as well. Japan, they prefer angus cattle.
“In the dairy breed I like the jersey.”
The show also runs a hoof and hook competition.
“It’s not a real big one, but we always get good quality cattle along for that,” Graeme said.
“That is usually run on the Sunday morning.
“There’s two classes. One class is for retail selling, for the butcher shops.
“They’re judged for the quality and how they would be presented in the butcher shops.
“We have another class, which is heavier cattle, which is classed for export cattle.”
That competition attracts about 20 to 30 entrants.
“I take interest in the rest of the show,” he said.
“I take interest in the horses. I take interest in the sheep.
“Also, I like going through the exhibition building sometimes because my wife, Joy, has paintings in there. She enters paintings every now and then.
“They’re struggling to keep the show going.
“What the future is, I don’t know.
“It’s not just here.
“Even the country shows are folding up.
“You just can’t get people to stop and look at the cattle now.
“People don’t appreciate the country atmosphere.”
Graeme grew up in Korumburra.
“We lived directly opposite the saleyards,” he said.
“I’ve been a stock and station agent all of my life.
“You sell livestock and also you are able to sell real estate as well.
“I started when I was 15.
“I started as a junior office boy and worked my way right through.
“I started with an English company to start with – Australian Mercantile.
“I had 16 years with that company.
“Then I came to Scotts where I had 50 years.
“When the sale yards closed in Dandenong, we shifted the main office from Dandenong to Korumburra.
“As stock and station agents you’re selling livestock for farmers and graziers either in an auction system or privately to abattoirs, export abattoirs.
“You’re working on behalf of your client.
“With your clients, you go and advise them what markets are ready and whether their cattle are ready.”
When he first started he travelled a lot, “out of the office and out into the field”.
“I travelled extensively around Victoria and New South Wales,” he said.
His busy work schedule is behind Graeme’s one regret with the Dandenong Show.
“I never actually took any role. I was never president or anything, mainly because the job I had, I was too busy,” he said.
“That was a bit of a disappointment as far as I was concerned, that I didn’t step up.
“I was chairman of the cattle committee for a number of years.
“I did the announcing in the cattle section.
“I did that for a very long time. I can’t remember how long.”
Last year he was recognised for serving the show for 50 years and received an engraved clock for his commitment and support.
“I was honoured as a life member some years back, which I really appreciated,” he said.
Over the years he’s enjoyed the personal contact with “wonderful people” and being with the cattle.
The Dandenong Show has halved ticket prices this year.
Entry is $10 for adults, $5 for kids aged six to 16 years and free for children aged five years and under.
Family show tickets for two adults and up to four children are available via pre-purchase for $25.
Visit dandyshow.com.au/tickets.
