Ian Bucknall
Councillor, committee member and exhibitor - Ian Bucknall is a fifth-generation sheep farmer. He has a long family history of farming in Victoria and sheep have always been a part of that history.
Ian Bucknall is a fifth-generation sheep farmer. He has a long family history of farming in Victoria and sheep have always been a part of that history. His connection to the Melbourne Royal began in 1962 when he first started exhibiting his sheep at the Royal Melbourne Show. As Ian remembers:
I became an exhibitor in 1962 and from then on I’ve virtually called this place home ‘cause I’ve been here on some reason every year, with all the different organisations it’s involved with, really.
Ian continued to exhibit his sheep at the Melbourne Royal Show every year from 1962 until 2008. He remembers the excitement of the Show:
You’d load up your truck with the sheep, and we used to sleep on the Showgrounds so you’d put in your bedding and supplies to eat and this sort of thing, and you’d head off to the Show and it was like going away for a week’s holiday, or more than a week – ten days’ holiday – and it was a big thing. It was very, very exciting and you built around it, you built up from year to year so that was really good.
Sundays were a particular favourite because for a long time the Show was closed on Sundays, giving the exhibitors a chance to move around and see other exhibitors and catch up with one another.
Competition day was a highlight for Ian, one that involved a lot of work and energy. ‘We had over five hundred sheep in the Show and it would take a long time to get through’, he remembers. In 1986, after his success in showing sheep, Ian was asked if he would consider nominating for the Melbourne Royal Council. He was excited to take on the challenge and accepted a number of different roles beyond sheep, including working in the area of cattle and dairy as well as helping to initiate the Australian Beer Awards as a competition at the Melbourne Royal Show. Ian became Vice President and oversaw the redevelopment of the showgrounds and he is currently a member of the Heritage Committee. ‘I just loved the concept of being a councillor and part of the Show’, he reflects, ‘knowing what went on and how it worked’.