I have seen many changes in the judging of fleeces at country shows from Wentworth to Hamilton through to the big one at Royal Melbourne where I ended up the Chief Judge during the 1990’s. There has been a battle between the subjective, that is the method by which the judge in the old days wore a white coat and was full of mystery as to how the result was obtained and the objective method which I championed at the wool show in Castlemaine. With the objective method, everything is measured, added up and the winner proclaimed. This method was first developed by French wool processors hoping to gain an advantage over the British by producing a better-quality uniform during the Napoleonic wars.
The subjective method still prevails without the white coat or even the lunch with CWA cakes and sandwiches. A certain number of points are given out of 100 for things such as trueness to type, soundness, handle or character and style. Nowadays there is a shortage of wool classers willing to the juging and locally I or my son are in demand, but with eyes not what they used to be I have to say no to requests. Sadly, no one is willing to put on a show with the objective method as it is too much like hard work and time consuming. Small country shows battle on, with some shows changing the fleece show to the most valuable fleece which is much quicker all round. It must be said that wool judges claim, and I agree, that the wool section of an agricultural show is the only section that is accountable to the exhibitor as to how and why the final figures where arrived at.
The Castlemaine Wool Show was a National show which meant fleeces came from across Australia including Tasmania. We were able to arrange this with the local trucking company Thompsons, who brought the fleeces to Castlemaine free of charge, and the support of the local Council, Mount Alexander Shire. The Shire put any large empty building at our disposal, including the Town Hall in which we ended up having a ram sale in the third year we ran the competition. Because this competition was run on the objective method it was very popular with the Merino studs across the land, with the Tassie studs often running out winners.
Twenty years ago I thought country shows were on their last legs. No longer a special event in the country town for which a new outfit was bought for the family outing, somehow the wonderful stalwarts keep things going. Women in the gardening sections and girls riding their horses around the show grounds make up the majority of the agricultural activities, but without the dedicated men (yes, I’m afraid there are still very few women), in the wool sections, there wouldn’t be any shows at all.
The subjective method still prevails without the white coat or even the lunch with CWA cakes and sandwiches. A certain number of points are given out of 100 for things such as trueness to type, soundness, handle or character and style. Nowadays there is a shortage of wool classers willing to the juging and locally I or my son are in demand, but with eyes not what they used to be I have to say no to requests. Sadly, no one is willing to put on a show with the objective method as it is too much like hard work and time consuming. Small country shows battle on, with some shows changing the fleece show to the most valuable fleece which is much quicker all round. It must be said that wool judges claim, and I agree, that the wool section of an agricultural show is the only section that is accountable to the exhibitor as to how and why the final figures where arrived at.
The Castlemaine Wool Show was a National show which meant fleeces came from across Australia including Tasmania. We were able to arrange this with the local trucking company Thompsons, who brought the fleeces to Castlemaine free of charge, and the support of the local Council, Mount Alexander Shire. The Shire put any large empty building at our disposal, including the Town Hall in which we ended up having a ram sale in the third year we ran the competition. Because this competition was run on the objective method it was very popular with the Merino studs across the land, with the Tassie studs often running out winners.
Twenty years ago I thought country shows were on their last legs. No longer a special event in the country town for which a new outfit was bought for the family outing, somehow the wonderful stalwarts keep things going. Women in the gardening sections and girls riding their horses around the show grounds make up the majority of the agricultural activities, but without the dedicated men (yes, I’m afraid there are still very few women), in the wool sections, there wouldn’t be any shows at all.
Godfrey Marple,
March 2017
Godfrey Marple,
March 2017
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