A cracking yarn about large livestock and the history of a long-forgotten event at the Bangalow Show, from Neville Maloney.
When William Reading looked out the window, he saw more than a hot fat cow. He saw a solution. The fat cow and the pen it was in have long gone, but the solution remains and has taken over the last remnant of the pen.
The box where you entered your best guess about the weight of the fat cow is still in the Show Office waiting for entries, but the category has long since been deleted from the annual show events.
After the 1907 Bangalow Show, ‘Bill’ Reading planted his first camphor laurel tree in the showground. By 1941, they formed an impressive avenue as you entered the grounds. Today, Mr Reading’s solution appears more as a copse of trees rather than an avenue because the entrance has been moved.
The ’Fat Cow Competition’ ran from 1898 until the early 1950s and was one of the most profitable events at the show. In 1927, it raised £76 (the luncheon kitchen made £50).
Tickets were sold all over town, and there was great prestige in being the winner. But there was controversy in 1922 when three people guessed the correct weight and the five shilling prize was going to be divided between them until someone pointed out that the person who was closest but not correct, who got second prize, would receive 2/6p. The committee decided to combine all of the prize money and give it to the three who got the weight right.
In 1913, the first prize was a sewing machine, but there were six winners. The solution was to sell the machine, and then they drew lots. The winner received a brand new “suit of clothes made to order.” After that, it was decided to have money prizes.
Over the years, the fat cow was variously called the Fat Ox, Fat Ox, and Fat Beast. The weight seemed to slowly decrease from a whopping 768lbs (348kg) in 1908 to 602lbs (273kg) in 1933 and 561lbs (254kg) in 1949. The weight was the carcase weight at the abattoirs. The fat beast was sent off after the show, and two show committee men were on hand to confirm the weight.
Today, you can see the remnants of the Fat Cow pen forming part of the trunk of the first camphor that was planted some 115 years ago. Thanks to William H. Reading, the camphor laurel copse is a feature of our showground.