When farming was worthy of a medal

In 1855 there was no better ploughman than John Bennett in Aldinga. He had a medal to prove it.

WHEN it came to ploughmen in the South Australian coastal hamlet of Aldinga in 1855, there was none better than John Bennett. He had a medal to prove it.

Some 156 years after a palm-sized silver medallion was struck and intricately engraved to commemorate Bennett's sod-turning triumph in the town's annual ploughing match, it has been acquired by the National Museum of Australia as part of a collection of historical agricultural medals.

NMA senior curator Martha Sear said the 111 medals, which date from the 1850s to the 1920s, offer a glimpse to a bygone era of rural Australia.

"The idea of competitive ploughing isn't something we would think of today," Dr Sear said. "But back then people wanted to raise the skill level of farmers, and ploughers, so local agricultural shows would offer prizes. And the prizes -- these in particular -- are stunning."

The medals, once part of a vast trove of items owned by collector David Allen, were purchased last month by the museum for $127,000 (including buyer's premium) at an auction by Noble Numismatics. Bennett's medal, the oldest in the collection, was purchased for $8000. "We just chose medals with great stories; ones that were really beautiful or historically significant."

The collection includes medals from agricultural societies around the country, for events including Cow Yielding Largest Quantity of Butter Fat; Electric Pump at Work; Best Rough Hair Terrier; Best Pen of Thee Fine Wooled Ewes and Best Kidney Beans. The collection also includes a medallion awarded to a champion Queensland mare named Mince Meat.

"These medals tell you a lot about how people lived between the 1850s and 1920s, and the incredible diversity of activity that people in rural Australia were taking." Dr Sear said.

The museum hoped to exhibit the items during the next 12 months, but "we need to actually find out who these people are . . . and establish the provenance of the medals. All we have now are medals with names and towns or regions, and an event. We don't know, for instance, who John Bennett was. But someone in Aldinga might."

The museum will this month upload to its website a database of the medals including recipients' names and regions. Then, it is

hoped the "curiosity factor" will come into play. "We will obviously contact the agricultural societies and local historians. But those descendants may still be around," Dr Sear said.