Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows scenes from Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. The scenes, from the opening shot of the great show pavilion to the final shots of the funfair, are linked by a voice-over narration. In between, well-dressed visitors and spectators provide a backdrop for the shots of agricultural machinery, woodchopping, trotting races, horse jumping, show-girls outside a tent, and adults and children on a fairground ride, all conveying the diversity that the show provides the public. Orchestral music conveying celebration accompanies the clip.

Educational value points

• Promoted as ‘the country comes to the city’, Sydney’s Royal Easter Show has always been an event looked forward to by farming families as an opportunity to showcase their expertise, exchange ideas and see the latest agricultural innovations. Country women display their skills in endeavours such as bread baking and preserve making and rural children show their animals and take part in the Grand Parade as well as enjoying the show’s many entertainments.

• The aspects of the show selected for showcasing in the clip are still, more than 60 years after this footage was taken, what most Australians would regard as essential components of the ‘show’ experience. Show bags, showjumping, woodchopping, agricultural machinery displays, sideshow alley and the funfair are still key elements in what seems to be an iconic and largely unchanged Australian experience.

• The language and style of the narration seem outdated today with its over-dramatised, overly scripted commentary on the visuals. Language such as ‘the music of roundabouts and the voices of children blend to create a melody of happiness’ and ‘the husky voice of the showman invites the crowd to inspect the mysteries of the tent’ jar on modern ears used to a less flowery commentary.

• The central place of the horse in events at the Royal Easter Show is indicated in the clip. Equestrian events, showjumping, racing and riding displays provide important components of the ring events. Recent shows have featured up to 1,000 horses, indicating just how important show events are in the equestrian calendar.

• Woodchopping, shown here and introduced to the Sydney show in 1899, can be read as a symbolic representation of 'man’s mastery over nature’, just as the show itself celebrated the civilising influence of primary industry on Australia’s wilderness. The ‘sun-tanned giants’, as the clip describes the competitors, dramatically re-create clearing practices.

• The film, part documentary and part advertisement, was designed to showcase Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. The vibrantly coloured visuals and accompanying voice-over convey action, celebration and excitement through rapid cutting and a driving musical background linked by a narration that is full of hyperbole and vivid description.

This clip features scenes from Sydney’s Royal Easter Agricultural Show. It includes footage of the hall of industry, milling crowds, novelty stalls, the woodchopping competition, equestrian events, the sideshows and the show rides.
Narrator Secondary industry has halls of imposing dimensions for the display of its products. The machinery salesman is here to catch the eye and the cheque of the farmer. The carnival spirit is apparent around the novelty stalls and sideshows, so it is natural that the Royal Show has grown to huge proportions.

Suntanned giants from the forest meet in rivalry in wood chopping contests. Trotters flash their hooves as they speed around the bowl. Australians are world renowned for their skilful handling and love of horses, and the speedy action and the judgment of the drivers makes trotting a popular event. High jumps are always a big attraction and many a record falls. Often a horse and man barely clear the poles, and sometimes other things than records fall. Hunting pairs speed around the ring with fascinating precision. Thrills and spills are always expected, and often happen.

While the ring events are in full swing, the husky voice of the show man is heard inviting the crowd to inspect the mysteries of the tents. Giant and dwarf, fighter and wrestler, fat girl and freak are commercialised, turning disability to profit. The music of the roundabouts and the voices of the children blend to create a melody of happiness. Youth and age in joyous mood go hand in hand with all the thrills of seven years and speed.

But all good things must come to an end.