Bolstered by the state sheep show, Longreach recorded great entries in many sections at its annual show as the community came together to show its resilience.
Show president Margie Webb said it had been a great thing for the town “in the middle of a howling drought”.
Thanks to the efforts of the RAPAD Employment Services team, led by Tony Rayner, pens in the wool and sheep pavilion had been totally renovated and Ms Webb said it “looked better than when it first opened”.
“it’s just wonderful to see it full of sheep again,” she said.
QMSSA president Karen Huskisson said that one of the things that could be said about the people living in the heartland of sheep in Queensland was that they never lost their positive outlook.
She congratulated long-time studmaster Bill Benjamin on his Order of Australia medal this year, and commended Elders on 27 years of sponsorship of the state sheep show in Queensland.
Opposition leader Tim Nicholls attended the show and QMSSA dinner and told the audience he suspected it had been a long time since a Member for Clayfield had attended a state sheep show.
He said he had been urged to come to the west and see for himself the problems being endured and he’d been glad for the opportunity to speak with a lot of people.
“I acknowledge the $5 million for fencing just announced by the government, but so much more needs to be done,” he said. “Your perseverance is a lesson for the whole state.”
Agriculture Minister Leanne Donaldson was a last-minute attendee to the dinner, travelling via a biosecurity forum and said the fact that people were still working to bring sheep back to the region spoke volumes about their tenacity.