"The country comes to the city…The city greets the country". Sydney's Royal Easter show is Australia's largest agricultural event and a characteristic feature of life in NSW. The annual show is an opportunity to showcase rural industry and promote agricultural education, through the competitive display of animals, produce and skill. The first Show was held in Parramatta in 1823 by the newly formed Agricultural Society of New South Wales. It subsequently moved to Sydney’s Prince Alfred Park and then to Moore Park in 1882. This map features the 1935 Royal Easter show, which was the largest and most successful to date, with record-breaking visitor attendances reaching 732,416 and competitive entries totalling 14,392. The grip of the Depression had begun to lift and there was a growing optimism in Australia’s agricultural future.

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The largest single event of the show is the Grand Parade where hundreds of prize-winning animals representing the various classes of livestock are paraded before huge crowds of spectators. The colourful display is an opportunity to showcase the excellence of the country’s stock and the growing success of Australia’s agricultural industries.

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Prizes were awarded for the best cattle, sheep, pigs and horses, judged according to carefully drafted standards by leaders in the industy, such as Sir Samuel Hordern (1876-1956). As president of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW from 1915 to 1941, he was largely responsible for the growth of the Show from a small fair to one of the world's greatest agricultural shows.

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Display and demonstration of farming equipment and techniques were an important part of the Show up until the 1960s. Fortescue & Sons sold farm machinery and implements, including fumigators for the extermination of rabbits, a persistent and destructive pest for farmers.

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One of the most exciting competitions, the Woodchop has been a feature of the Show since the late 19th century. Here, crowds sit mesmerised by the skill and strength of the axemen as they tackle the upright hardwood logs.

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The promotion of agriculture through education is one of the aims of the Show, and a way to introduce city children to rural practices and produce to which they may not have otherwise been exposed. This young boy is learning how to milk a cow.

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The 1935 Royal Easter Show was the largest and most successful to date, with record-breaking visitor attendances reaching 732,416.

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District Exhibits are one of the highlights of the Show and an opportunity to display the fine fruit, vegetables and local produce of each region in New South Wales. These spectacular exhibits are a cooperative work by local growers in each area.

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A popular part of the Show and a favourite of all children, showbags were traditionally a means for manufacturers to market their products to the general public. The Royal Hall of Industries housed displays of everything from Cadbury’s chocolates, Nestle and Smith’s potato crisps, to Aspros headache pills (for the exhausted parents!).

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Women played an increasing part in the Show, not only as exhibitors of their own handicraft, but also as competitors in the equestrian events, and as breeders of stock-horses, sheep, cattle and dogs. Dinah Hordern, daughter of Mr Anthony Hordern and niece of Sir Samuel Hordern, came from a family dynasty intrinsically linked with the RAS and stock breeding in Australia.

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Vita-Lick is a livestock food supplement, assisting in the nutrition of sheep, cattle & horses. Visitors to this informative display could see a range of products, as well as peering into a microscope to see live worms in sheep!

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Every year, hundreds of children lose their parents amongst the crowds at the Show. Here, Mrs Hoffman, an official in the Lost Children's tent consoles a distraught girl, Teresa Hughes of Flemington, Sydney. On that day alone, fifty children found their way to the lost children tent.

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Displays were an opportunity for farmers to see the latest farming equipment and machinery. Engineering company Armstrong Holland Ltd. manufactured heavy machinery such as tractors, ploughs, graders and concrete mixers for use in managing the land.

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Agricultural manufacturers mounted impressive displays like this one by Howard Auto Cultivators Ltd. to encourage farmers to buy their products. Howard Rotary Hoes, designed and patented by Arthur Clifford Howard (1893-1971), greatly increased the efficiency with which small farms were cultivated.

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Formed in 1859, John Danks & Sons manufactured and supplied a variety of plumbing and engineering products suitable for farmers such as centrifugal pumps, windmills and brass feeding troughs.

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