Sydney Royal

Celebrating 200 years of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales, this book tells the fascinating story of the founding of the Society and the annual Sydney Royal Easter Show, its public face and the annual meeting place of country and the city. The high ambitions that drove the founders of the Society to constantly refine and respond to the needs of a changing world have produced a unique institution, the custodian of much of our history as a nation.

The challenges faced by the Society mirror those of the wider community, focusing on those who have fed and clothed us, telling their stories as they created the agricultural industries central to our development as a nation. In many ways the Society's 200-year existence reflects the history and evolution of modern Australia and identifies many of the major achievements and challenges that have created the world as we know it.

The book not only tells the history of the RAS, it is also a visual kaleidoscope of the Society's many-sided activities and the vital roles it has played in the economy and culture of our state. The myriad features of the annual show are covered with documentary photographs featuring woodchopping, horses, cattle, sheep, poultry, as well as the ever-popular displays of art, flowers, wine and food, sideshow alley and the ubiquitous showbags.

Beautifully illustrated and informative, the book will be a joy to all whose visits to the Royal Easter Show are remembered with deep affection.

About the author

Gavin Fry is a writer, designer and artist, based in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. He has had a long career as a museum curator and administrator, working in major national, state and regional institutions. Over the past 40 years Gavin has become one of the most widely published writers on Australian art and history, building on his work with major collections to tell the stories of the Australian people, their life and culture.