Picnicing at Show
Prior to the abundance and variety of food offerings now available at Show, visitors were encouraged to bring a picnic to enjoy on the lawns of the Showgrounds. In this story, the Hopgood family were captured enjoying their picnic lunch.
This photograph was taken at the Royal Melbourne Show on Saturday the 22nd of September 1951. It then appeared in The Argus newspaper on Monday the 24th of September 1951. Lillian Mather (nee Hopgood) tells the story of this treasured family photo.
From left to right: My mother Win Hopgood (aged 47), my Father Alec Hopgood (aged 47), myself Lillian (aged 17), my sister Margaret (aged 13), Margaret Cameron (aged 17, a workmate of mine) and Valerie Nance (aged 16, a neighbour of ours).
We were laughing because the newspaper photographer seemed to be taking forever to take the photograph and I was telling everyone I was hungry but I was determined not to be photographed with a mouthful of sandwich. The picnic lunch was somewhere in the middle of the showgrounds on a small areas of lawn with few trees and a bordered by a low hedge. Note the Show bags: Giant Liquorice and Allens Lollies also the water ‘Billy’. In those days you could buy a Billy of hot water for 9 pence or 1/- 1shilling to make a cup of tea. When we were young show bags had samples (miniature) bottles of Vegemite, Peanut Butter etc.
We would have driven to the Showgrounds from our home in Thornbury and enjoyed staying for the day and evening. An annual event for us at the time. We loved all the farm animals’ prize chooks, show dogs and beautiful horses. Fresh fruit and vegetables were available. The lovely Craft Halls with handmade garments and magical decorated cakes. My Father, an Engineer, loved all the farm machinery and tractors. We spent various times in the arena watching the animal parades, wood chopping and horse dressage. At night, one of the highlights was Harness Racing.
This photo was and still is very precious to us. Taking a family photo with the four of us together was always difficult and my Father sadly passed away suddenly 9 months after this photo was taken.