Presidents  Agricultural Society of NSW / Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Agriculture was so central to the development of the colony of NSW that many leaders of the RAS have inevitably also been prominent figures in the broader history of the nation. Active and multi-talented,...

Fashionable crowd at the 1870 Intercolonial Exhibition. Photo of early lithograph.

Exhibition of the Agricultural Society of NSW at Prince Alfred Park. Panoramic view of the Society's Show at the old park grounds, photograph of an early lithograph.

Prince Alfred Park South facing view of the Exhibition Building at Prince Alfred Park. Taken during show time, crowds and carriages in view.

Floor plan of the interior of the Prince Alfred Pavilion durng the Metropolitan Intercolonial Exhibition of April 1875. This plan appeared as a supplement in the Sydney Mail.  

Pavilion building at Prince Alfred Park.

Rabbits were first exhibited at the Show in 1858.  Prizes were offered for two classes: ‘Best couple of Lop-eared Rabbits’, and ‘Best couple of rabbits of any breed’.  A buck and doe were apparently entered by a S.G.W Hosking, but no award...

In the 'Home and Handcrafts - Cookery' section of the 1950 Show catalogue the tantalising Rainbow cake makes an early appearance as: Class 94 - Rainbow Cake, warm or soft icing, simple decoration, to be cut.  To find a recipe for a Rainbow bake - click on the PDF link....

In 1922 the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW planned a series of special celebrations to mark its centenary, but these events were very much shaped by the pandemic the nation experienced three years prior. In 1919 a big Jubilee Show was planned by the Royal Agricultural...

The earliest record of the exhibition of rats or mice at the Show was in 1882 when ‘White Rats’ were entered in a miscellaneous class by a person named R. W. Loughnan. The animals were not shown again until 2003 when a non-competitive exhibition was mounted....