The annual Australian Sheep & Wool Show draws a loyal crowd of long-term attendees.
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00:00I'm Gavin Wall and I've been around sheep most of my life.
00:04I first started judging corridales here in about 1966 or 67
00:10and I've been coming to the Australian Sheep and Wolf Show since 2002, whatever that is.
00:18But I've certainly enjoyed my time here at the Sheep and Wolf Show.
00:23Lots of people to meet, lots of sheep to see
00:26and it's a really good educational experience for anyone who's been in sheep for a long time or new to sheep.
00:33Hi, I'm Deepa Whiteman. I'm from the Blue Rock, Suffolk stud.
00:37We're located at Wilmsey, Victoria.
00:40What keeps bringing you back to Bendigo each year?
00:43Well, being that it's the largest sheep show in the Southern Hemisphere, that's one reason.
00:50There's always great competition. You get to catch up with our fellow breeders from all around the country
00:55and the fellowship that we have is just great.
00:59I'm Rae Christie. We exhibit Lincolns, an old heritage breed from south of Hamilton.
01:04We come back, we meet up with friends, we can compare our sheep with other exhibits.
01:09It's nice to see how other breeds are progressing.
01:12It's nice to see new breeds and it's just a good time fun and it's the elite of all shows.
01:18Generally speaking, it's a show that you need to come to because it is an Australian sheep show.
01:23What do you get out of seeing other sheep, Barry?
01:27I just get ideas of how they're going with their breeding and comparison to your own.
01:34It's interesting to see other exhibitors and how they're progressing with their breeds of sheep.
01:43We keep coming back to the Bendigo show because we feel part of the whole Dorset family
01:48and the atmosphere at Bendigo is something super special and it's one of the biggest shows in the world.
01:54And although you don't run a stud anymore, Wallace, you keep coming back?
02:00We do because, as I said, we feel part of the whole Dorset family
02:05and it is one time of the year or one of several times in the year that we're able to catch up with people that we've known
02:11for 50 or 55, 60 years and it's a very wonderful time in our whole social life.
02:20And you have no plans not to come?
02:23No, no. It's pencilled in each year that we come to the July.
02:28We don't go away on trips overseas because of the sheep show and it's just such a grand event
02:37and you need to be here for several days, two or three days, to be able to get around the whole exhibition.