Clouds over agricultural show circuit after Devonport Show cancelled

A SHOCK decision to cancel this year’s Devonport Show has raised questions about the future of other Tasmanian agricultural show events.

The 2016 Devonport Show Supreme Beef Exhibit winner Kanangra Livin Te Dream with owner Sheree Lawrence.

A SHOCK decision to cancel this year’s Devonport Show has raised questions about the future of other Tasmanian agricultural show events.

The Devonport Show, which had been running for 108 years, was due to be held on December 1-2.

But the Devonport Agricultural and Pastoral Society said on Tuesday it had been cancelled because of falling crowds and rising costs.

The decision comes just days after organisers of the Royal Launceston Show raised concerns about that show’s viability.

DAPS president Maryann Hortle said the society’s executive committee had no choice but to cancel this year’s show.

“This has been a really hard decision. There has been a lot of thinking, looking at options and soul searching,” she said.

“But ultimately, the financial situation didn’t give us much choice. We’re a business and we have to make sound business decisions.”

While many of the state’s showgrounds are owned by local councils, DAPS actually owns its showground, which Mrs Hortle said was part of the issue.

“We are in a different situation to a lot of shows because we own the grounds and that comes with a lot of maintenance costs,” she said.

“We do have a long term tenant with Tasracing, but the cost of maintaining the ground is going up all the time.”

Devonport has also faced challenges due to declining crowd numbers.

Mrs Hortle said on average it cost about $60,000 to run the annual show and the committee was not confident it would get enough people attending to make it viable.

She said DAPS would complete a financial analysis before making any long term decisions about the show’s future.

Royal Launceston Show president Jock Gibson said rising costs and disappointing numbers at last week’s show meant it was unlikely that show could survive.

Dianne Alexander from the Showmen’s Guild of Tasmania said any reduction in the number of shows on the Tasmanian circuit would impact on the businesses that rely on them.

Ms Alexander said business operators were also facing rising costs.

“Our insurance has gone up tenfold in the past few years and we’ve also got things like wages and fuel that is going up all the time,” she said.