But two weeks ago, the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW president Robert Ryan, adhering to official directives from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, cancelled these year’s show to protect public health and prevent spreading Coronavirus.
Not since the global flu pandemic in 1919 had Australia’s biggest agricultural show had to be cancelled to avoid a global health emergency.
If you are disappointed about missing out on showbags don’t lose heart, you can have fun by shopping online, says Ms Chiu who has taken a different approach on her seasonal business venture by creating a virtual store,
In a short time online interest in the site has soared boosting her confidence to keep her business going in the midst of global uncertainty.
“Our online site has been live for one week and we have filled a lot more orders than expected,” Ms Chiu cheerily told Access News.
“Customers are happy they are able to buy our show-bags even though the Easter Show is cancelled. The reception has been encouraging.”
Most show operators are family run and Ms Chiu, 41, who’s been part of the Royal Easter Show tradition for two decades, described their collective plight a “massive blow with half our revenues went up in the air.”
“We understand it was a hard decision for the RAS for they have been awesome all these years, but everyone’s hurting,” says Ms Chiu who runs the business with her husband, Harvey Chang, 40, along with a few casual employees.
“We’ve put our hearts and souls in making every Easter Show a wonderful experience for every young ones that go in, those teens, their mums and dads, grandparents, and every patron enjoying a showcase of our agriculture industry.”
The RES was set to open on Saturday, April 4 and run until Monday, April 13. The cancellation meant the all show stallholders and operators of amusements, particularly the exhibitors of the best agricultural produce and livestock from across the agriculture industry stood to lose $250M, RAS chief executive officer Brock Gilmour said.
“We are in the process of implementing a number of measures to deal with priority concerns including refunding or holding over competition fees, refunding tickets purchased by the general public and unwinding contracts with hundreds of supplies,” Mr Brock said in a media statement.
About 500 other smaller agricultural shows are held around regional towns on the RAS annual calendar of events.
These shows employ a few hundred assistants as well as RAS staff who have been recently stood down following the coronavirus shutdown that only allows essential frontline services and businesses.
“Every child growing should be experiencing these shows so they know where eggs come from,” Ms Chiu said. “It’s our heritage and relevant to all of us, it helps our farmers, food producers and our economy.”
For now, save the date because if history repeats itself, the RAS will survive Coronavirus and the 2021 Royal Easter Show will be back, Mr Brock said.
On the heels of the Great Depression, the Royal Agricultural Society’s show in 1935 at Sydney’s Moore Park recorded its “biggest attendance, prizemoney and competitions” from when it was first staged at Parramatta’s Prince Alfred Square in 1823 by the pioneers of Australia’s agricultural industry the likes of John Blaxland, William Cox, John Macarthur and Samuel Marsden, if these names ring a bell.
Go shopping for Royal Easter Show show-bags at
