Balmoral’s Sheep and Wool Show has been given the go ahead for later this month despite the cancellation of the Balmoral Show as a whole.

Construction on Balmoral Recreation Reserve to build a new community centre has forced Balmoral Pastoral and Agricultural Society to shelve its annual show this year.

Instead, the society will only present its popular sheep and wool show on February 29.

Society president John Silcock said having just the sheep and wool show, one of the largest merino sheep shows in Victoria, would help keep interest in Balmoral Show for its planned return in 2021.

He said it was therefore important that people continued to enter their sheep to ‘keep things ticking over’.

“It’s a very major sheep and wool show on the calendar, and I guess by keeping it, we’re keeping something happening so next year we can come back bigger and better,” he said.

Mr Silcock said the site’s old football-netball clubrooms, change rooms and kitchen were demolished late last year to make way for a new large function centre, with building starting this year.

He said the renovations had been ‘in the pipeline’ for a couple of years, and developments had progressed thanks to mass community fundraising events and a Federal Government grant.

He said gate entry at this month’s sheep and wool show would be free, and a barbecue would be available.

– Lotte Reiter

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