It's only been cancelled five times since it began in 1874 and now the year 2020 will go down in history as the sixth time the Moree Show did not go ahead.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Moree Show Society made the decision to cancel the 2020 show, which was slated for August 14 and 15, during a meeting on the weekend.
"After hoping that conditions may have allowed our much loved event to be held, the situation has become untenable," Moree Show Society president Brendan Munn said in a statement on Facebook.
"We have put the safety of our whole community at the forefront of our decision, and hope you can stay with us in these trying times.
"This decision was made after giving ourselves the maximum amount of time before making this difficult call.
"The health and safety of our community must come first."
READ ALSO:
Since 1874, the Moree Show has only been cancelled five times, during both World Wars, the town fires of 1928, and due to seasonal conditions.
And now, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the show's sixth cancellation.
Now, as the second wave is hitting Melbourne hard and more cases develop in Sydney, NSW Health restrictions would have made it too difficult for the show society to run.
"We wouldn't be able to run it with too many restrictions," Mr Munn explained.
"It would have taken too much manpower to have people constantly cleaning toilets, wiping down surfaces, watching people to make sure they maintained social distance etc.
"I think we all knew it was coming. We gave it our best shot, and gave it as long as possible. We needed a month to get ready for the show if it was going ahead.
"Back in March when we had our zone meeting, we were able to secure those dates in August if we didn't hold it in April, which we couldn't. Those were the only available dates for the rest of the year, so we can't postpone it again."
The show society is now looking forward to the 2021 Moree Show, set for the Anzac Day weekend in April, which they say is going to be bigger and better than ever.
"We've already got a lot of sponsorship money in, which is sitting in our bank account ready to go for next year, as long as our sponsors are happy for us to keep the money," Mr Munn said.
"I think it'll be a much better year next year, as long as COVID dies out.
"It's going to be a decent harvest this year."
The showgrounds will also be in tip-top shape by April next year, with a number of works currently underway thanks to the state government's COVID-19 Showground Stimulus Package.
"We started on the kitchen last weekend," Mr Munn said.
"We've demolished all the old kitchen under the grandstand and have started throwing paint on the walls. The show society is doing all the painting - that's our contribution. We're also fixing up the ticket box.
"Most of the grant funding is going to getting the roads all sealed, to reduce the dust. Other funding is going to rebuilding the wool shed. The show society will have an office in that, so we'll have a home again."
While the show won't go on in August, the show society is hoping to still run the showjumping events on August 14 and 15, as well as the hack events on a later date, to allow competitors to still accumulate points ahead of next year's Sydney Royal Easter Show. These events will still be able to go ahead, but without spectators and with limited vendors.
