Banjo Patterson

Banjo Patterson first came in contact with the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) and the Royal Melbourne Show as an adult, through his career with the Victorian Department of Agriculture – as it was then known. RASV’s Farm Management Competition required a team of judges to visit a number of nominated farms each year to assess them against a range of different criteria, which included all aspects of the physical management of the farm as well as financial management and sustainability initiatives. The department supplied a farm management economist as part of the judging panel – and Banjo was asked if he was interested. Looking back he recalls:

I certainly didn’t realise that it would be such a long-standing commitment. I certainly didn’t realise that I’d see so much of the state. My very first tour I was probably a little bit nervous because I probably wasn’t sure what we were supposed to be doing, but over the years it fell into shape and I suppose I actually had a fair hand in making some of the changes that went on over the years.

On average Banjo and the other judges would visit around 20 farms a year. There were two categories – small farm and large farm – and the winners were announced at an awards ceremony during the Royal Melbourne Show. ‘The awards ceremonies were fairly prestigious’, recalls Banjo. For a lot of competitors ‘that was perhaps their first time at the Show’.

Banjo was involved with RASV in a number of other roles, including the Commercial Flock of the Year Competition and the Farm Business Management Awards – which is what the Farm Management Competition later became. For his continued support, Banjo was made a life member of RASV and awarded the President’s Medal in 2006. Looking back on his years of commitment, he reflects:

… if it wasn’t an enjoyable experience I probably wouldn’t have continued for so long.  It became in a way a bit of a large family of people so it was always very pleasant to be in their company, to work with them and to socialise with them. And also we were firmly of the belief that we were doing something to promote agriculture, improve productivity and assist individual entrants improve their own lot. So we did have that firm belief and I think that was the glue that held us together.