John Graveur with one of his champion Light Sussex Bantams at the Dapto Show. Photo: Zoe Cartwright.
It’s been staged for 158 years, but you’re still guaranteed a clucking good time at the Dapto Agricultural Show.
First for the Illawarra region on the annual show calendar, Dapto drew spectators young and old to the showground over the weekend.
Classic events like the woodchop competition and whip cracking were side by side with more unique offerings like the lawnmower race and live pro wrestling.
Displayed in pride of place at the Gable in the Tap House were the produce, cookery, needlework, knitting and crochet, photography and homebrew entries.
Outside there were rides and tame farm animals for the kids – but inside the poultry pavillion lay the beating heart of the show.
Members of the Dapto Poultry Club spent the past month prepping and preening to put the finishing touches on their finest fowl.
Lifelong exhibitor John Graveur’s Light Sussex Bantams took out Champion Pair this year, and he had some sage advice for anyone interested in putting their birds in the ring.
“I’ve exhibited for more than 50 years and a judge for 48 years,” he said.
“I exhibit Sussex Bantams and Large Manorcas – I went to the 1973 Sydney Royal to buy some breeding stock to get started and the only thing that caught our eye was some Light Sussex Bantams.
“To get the birds ready for show is a lifelong effort from the day the bird hatches.
“The prize is won well before the show. You have a housing program, feeding program, health program to make it grow into the very best bird you could get.
“The month before the show you put on the finishing touches, train them to be a bit quieter in the pen so they aren’t scared in a strange environment or when the judge approaches them.
“You wash them, scrub their legs and wipe over their face to make them really clean and bright.
“It’s a bit like a human bodybuilding competition; the judges are looking for particular features and the people who do the best animal husbandry are the ones who win.
“You get a sense of achievement from working hard to compete and win something.”
Silkie bantams are often a favourite with young poultry enthusiasts – and with hairstyles like this it’s easy to see why. Photo: Zoe Cartwright.
President of the Dapto Poultry Club Anthony Mountney said he caught the bug at a young age, too.
He said showing poultry was a fantastic activity for the whole family, especially for younger kids.
He had a few tips for anyone with kids who would enjoy some feathered friends.
“Coming from a farming background my father had poultry and they’ve come in and out of my life ever since,” he said.
“My son is taking it on from me now so I can step back a bit and let him enjoy it.
“Exhibition poultry are meant to be able to be handled easily so it’s something for children to enjoy and learn from.
“I tend to keep hardfeather but young children are often more drawn towards a Silkie or a Light Sussex, something a bit more colourful and friendly.”
A steady stream of small faces peering at a pair of brightly-dyed Silkie bantams proved Anthony’s case.
Several kids nominated the poultry shed as their favourite part of the show.
“I like seeing the animals and having showbags,” Maddie said.
Eloise agreed.
“I like to see the big variety of all the different birds,” she said.
Four-year-old Ryder, however, was not to be distracted by fine feathers.
“I like the rides,” he said.
Illawarra show afficionados (big and small) will need to wait until the new year for their next hit, with Albion Park, Kiama, Berry and Nowra shows all getting underway in January and February 2026.
