Ben Apfelbaum

THE ROYAL EASTER SHOW COMPLETES ITS 204TH YEAR

 

The great thing about the Royal Easter Show is that it is the same every year. It is one of the few institutions that gives a sense of familiarity and stability every year.

There is the deliciously unnutritional food, the sideshow alley rides that try to evacuate that food from your stomach and of-course the always crowd packed Showbag Pavilion, with most showbags selling this year for $32.

The soul of the Royal Easter Show is those events that are free. To see pigs, goats and poultry which often look alien-like is always a delight. Sheep shearing is nearby just as an Easter Show parade passes by. 

There are dog and bird breeding championships as well as cattle and horses.

In the arena there are polo matches and horse races whilst in the rodeo ring there are horsemen with lancers seeking to pick up objects and aiming at a bullseye. 

A perennial favourite, and one that always brings a smile to one’s face, is the fruit and vegetable and other produce artfully displayed as beautiful ‘murals’.

Adjacent to this pavilion is the Arts and Craft Hall where the creative efforts of farm ladies create a sense of wonder as one views cakes with spectacular patterns, embroidery, hand knitted, floppy dolls, clothed in  elaborate costumes also handmade, to name but a few.

State Government institutions have always participated in the show and this year the Police, marine rescue and emergency services stalls proved very popular. 

All this is augmented with a lovely display of truly skilfull paintings and photography works.

For me, the most exciting event, which also attracts large crowds, was the wood-chopping in its special arena. Teams from every state in Australia as well as international teams from the USA came together to display their prowess in competition which require brawn and precision axemanship.

The biggest show of its kind in Australia is now in its 204th year and I look forward to seeing more Royal Easter Shows in the years to come.

Text and photos by Ben Apfelbaum

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.