The Show is suffering from Intellectual Atrophy

Maybe the reason for its existence is no longer relevant. Maybe we should have reviewed and refocused the purpose. Or maybe in a hedonist society it just doesn’t matter anymore as long as people have a good time.

My problem is that the shift to a soulless and purposeless Easter Show doesn’t seem to be the result of any definite decision by the organisers or the people of Sydney but rather, the consequence of years of intellectual atrophy that crept in while the organisers focus on attracting big crowds and bigger attractions.

What the Show Needs Most – and it’s Not Money

Once the purpose for a business, an organisation or an event disappears the entity soon follows. Sure the Royal Easter Show is one way to keep the kids occupied during the Easter holidays and this may be a sufficient purpose to keep it going until something better comes along. Or until the price exceeds the perceived value!

Without an urgent re-evaluation we could be in the twilight years of the Royal Easter Show but I would not like to see it go. In fact I don’t believe the question should be whether it survives or not but how can we make it more relevant so it survives for another 100 years.

Imagine if the Royal Easter Show became a great opportunity to showcase Australia. It could feature our social and cultural history, what we grow, make or create and highlight the relationship between Australia’s foremost city and Australian cities in general and the agricultural infrastructure that feeds them, or used to, at least.

I heard a programme on ABC radio recently about a social scientist in America who visited some schools and held up a bag of tomatoes and asked the kids what they were. Many had not seen fresh vegetables out of a can and thought they were potatoes. I wonder how many children in Australia have ever visited a farm or orchard and know where fruit and vegetables or milk comes from (a common answer in the above American study was “the supermarket”).

The relationship between city dwellers and the food they eat is diminishing as they lose sight of where it comes from. That could be one reason why we are happy to import food at great cost in terms of carbon footprint consequences, we just don’t know where it comes from.

The original show was started in 1823 to encourage the colony’s rural industries and introduce the city dwellers to their country cousins who fed them. While we probably need an updated variation on this theme today it is still a good basic premise.

I think a show that highlighted the best that Australia has to offer would not have to worry about attracting crowds, people would come from all over the world to experience it.

It would be a boon for tourism and reinvigorate the show with a new purpose. Sydneysiders would pack the grounds not just the families with children coming for the entertainment but young and old adults and business people as well.