Rochester’s Great Northern Show back on

Rochester will host its 135th show later this month, so get your Bertie Beetle money ready. See what’s in store.

Horse rider Karen Cook on Thalaba Ruby Dreaming at a previous Great Northern Show, Rochester. The show is back on for 2023.

The Great Northern Show will return to Rochester this month, with organisers announcing entry to the event will be free.

Showbags, rides, dog shows, cattle and horse competitions have been confirmed, as well as a fireworks display.

The announcement of free entry for all ages will result in savings of about $30 per family.

Victorian Agricultural Shows boss Rod Bowles said he was delighted the Rochester event would go ahead, following a difficult four-month run for many regional shows.

“Between 15 and 20 shows were cancelled due to heavy rains and flooding last year,” he said.

“The Melbourne Royal Show signals the start of the season for us and it goes right through to Easter but the wet weather created a lot of problems.

“Even in areas that were not flooded, heavy rain events made the grounds so soft it wasn’t possible to put horse floats on them or rides and those shows had to be cancelled as well.”

Shows at nearby Bendigo and Castlemaine also had to be cancelled, forcing many from Rochester to miss out on entering annual competitions close to their town.

The prize ribbons are ready for Rochester's Great Northern Show, 2023.

Vice president of the Rochester Agriculture and Pastoral Association Merryn Murray said generous sponsorship deals had allowed the organising committee to waive entry ticket fees for attendees.

“People are really happy that we are up and going again and we’re getting very positive feedback,” she said.

“We really wanted to hold it this year because everybody has had such a hard time lately. We have had fantastic sponsors come on board to allow free admission.”

The show will be held on February 24 – 25, starting on the Friday evening, at the Rochester Recreation Reserve.

“We have been trying to hold our 135th show for a few years now and we’re really happy to be going ahead,” Ms Murray said.

The show has not yet returned to its full strength across all categories such as handicrafts, but the event promises photography and Lego competitions, along with pastoral displays.

“We’ve made sure there are things to appeal to older kids and younger kids so it will be a really good day out,” Ms Murray said.

“We have been able to source a range of entertainment and activities that have not been seen at the show before.”

Victorian Showmen’s Guild executive officer Justine Sinclair said agricultural shows were a staple of country life and continued to enjoy tremendous support from the community.

“It’s been a hard few years due to Covid and wet weather and a lot of people have been out of work because of those things,” she said.

“But when shows are held we have noticed that the community really comes out in droves to support them and the attendance figures are really up.”

The Melbourne Royal Show recorded its biggest attendance in 15 years, with 501,784 people going through the gates across 11 days between September and October 2022.

Mr Bowles said agricultural shows were hugely important to regional economies and mental health for rural populations.

“It’s difficult to quantify but we do know that people work for many months or even years in advance to prepare prize winning cattle entries and that goes for a lot of the other competitions too. It’s also very good for socialising and the mental health of farmers who participate.”