District Exhibits Heritage Highlight

125 Years of District Exhibits 

‘It’s an icon of the Show…. it’s quite remarkable, it’s the only thing that is done in the world of such a nature’ [Michael Arnott 2013] 

In 2025, the RAS celebrates 125 years of the District Exhibits competition. Designed to promote, to educate and to entertain, the District Exhibits have provided a spectacular showcase for the agricultural sector since 1900. 

The grand idea originated at the RAS’s Prince Alfred Exhibition of 1876. Three courts were set aside for country society exhibits, and in 1888, during the ‘Great Centennial Intercolonial Exhibition’ at Moore Park, special Centennial Prizes were awarded for regional displays of farm produce. A decade later the concept was again revived when Mr Richardson, stationmaster at Orange, suggested the idea of a districts display to the RAS. In 1899, Secretary Frederick Webster, invited a number of country agricultural societies in NSW to send district exhibits of farm, dairy, horticultural and pastoral produce to the 1900 Easter Show. 

The NSW Government offered up £150 in prize money for the ‘District Societies Grand Competition’, and Clarence, Central New England, Grenfell, Mudgee, Nepean, Orange and Tumut all staged displays for the 1900 Show. From that point on, the competition changed periodically over the decades, but by 1950, five core districts had formed. In 2025, the four districts of Central, North, West and Southern NSW will compete for the top prize. The Schools District competition, inaugurated in 2010, will run alongside the main competition for its fifteenth year. 

The District Exhibit competition is a great feat of human cooperation. Dedicated growers from each region work to create consistently spectacular produce and the thousands of components of fresh fruit & vegetables, grains, pasture grasses, legumes, wool, oils, honey and preserves are then sourced and transported to the Showground by volunteer organisers. 

Once on site, creation of the masterpieces begins. From the 1960s, professional designers lent their expertise and displays began to be curated around central themes. The adversity of drought and fire, the bounty of rain, the spirit of the land and the resilience of rural people have all been themes explored through intricate mosaics of agricultural produce.  

With pin-point arrangement, each specimen must also be true to name and graded to a high standard. Community volunteers work tirelessly to perfect the elaborate exhibits and then more than 50 expert judges work over the course of six days to decide the winners. Points and prizes are awarded for both outstanding produce and striking design. Since 1911, the District Exhibits Perpetual Shield – the oldest trophy in continuous use in RAS competition – has been awarded annually to the winner of the overall point score.  

By the time the Show opens on day one – most of the hard work in Districts is done. Crowds flock through to be amazed by the sheer artistry of the agricultural spectacular, debating fiercely about their favourite display and leaving with a powerful reminder of just what it takes on a daily basis to bring country food to city tables.  

Click below to hear more from some of the RAS’s longest serving District Exhibit organisers through these short oral history extracts: