FIRST it was the Harry Redford Cattle Drive at Aramac that bit the dust as another wet season failed. It has now been announced the Diamond Shears at Longreach and Barcaldine’s goat expo will not go ahead this year.
The loss of revenue these events generate through the interest they attract, plus the loss of social glue they provide to communities with not much to smile about will be felt keenly, but organisers felt they had no choice but to cancel in the circumstances.
Longreach shearing contractor Dave Grant said anyone with sheep left only had 20 per cent of their flocks at the most.
“That means there’s not the amount of shearers, and we felt it was inappropriate to ask for sponsorship at this time as well,” he said.
It was a similar story in Barcaldine, where the goat expo had been attracting 600-700 people for a day of “everything good about goats” – races, pies, fancy dress, and goatee beards.
Around 30 goats were being fed for racing, plus others for milk and meat, 45 all told, and a number of people said they were unable to afford to keep their goats on feed any longer.
Tom Lockie said the town was disappointed by the news but it couldn't be helped.
“We were going full steam until last Thursday night – I even had killers in, ready for goat pies,” Tom said.
“But we had a meeting and knew the drought had beaten us. We just can’t risk the possibility of racing animals that aren't fully fit.”
