THIS year marks the historic 100-year anniversary of the first Maleny Show, and members of the Maleny Show Society have been busy behind the scenes putting together a few special projects to mark this hugely significant milestone. One of these endeavours has been to research and assemble a commemorative exhibit of all past Life and Honorary Life Maleny Show Society Members, which will sit on permanent display in the Main Pavilion.
Third generation show volunteer Lynda Burgess has been coordinating the project over the last few months and says it has been an incredibly interesting and rewarding task, involving a lot of research, trawling through decades of meeting minutes from 1932-1992, sometimes with surprising outcomes.
“I discovered my paternal grandfather Albert Penney was a committee member way back in 1935, which I never realised,” said Lynda.
“As a local, this has been such an interesting task, as so many of the names and families are well known and important parts of Maleny history.
“It has been a wonderful opportunity to honour their memory and service, not only to the Show Society, but also our community.”
Along with creating a recognition wall honouring the dedication and service of these previous show stalwarts (some of whom volunteered their time for over 50 years), the idea is to also invite their descendants to a special opening ceremony event on Friday June 2 ,to launch the 100 year anniversary show.
“It’s not just about the members who devoted so many years of their time, it’s also about recognising the families involved, some of whom are still involved three generations later!” said Lynda.
The Maleny Show Society has bestowed 50 Life and Honorary Life Members, with 28 passed members currently honoured on the memorial wall, and the information of an additional three members still to be finalised. The goal is to unite the remaining 19 members with the descendants for the 100 -year celebration.
She said it’s also significant that there were committee members who had been part of the Show Society since the 1970s and 1980s and are still involved today. The 100-year milestone is an excellent opportunity to recognise and reflect on the service of local community members, ensuring the ongoing viability of the Show, as well as the success and achievements of such a long running Agricultural Show.
“It’s not just life members, but also our long term general and committee members, who deserve appreciation for their time volunteering for so many years, which demonstrates a longevity of commitment that is becoming unique these days!,”
The Maleny Show runs from Friday June 2-Saturday June 3 at the Maleny Showgrounds. For more information visit www.malenyshowsociety.org.au
Main image: Maleny Show volunteer Lynda Burgess says the honour wall has been a special experience.
