The Mount Barker District Show will be held next on Saturday 23rd March 2019. The Show Committee endeavors to showcase all aspects of Agriculture, Cookery and Crafts from the District as our forefathers have done over the previous 147 years of the Show’s history.

As an annual event, the Mount Barker Show is a great way of bringing a sample of the country to the town, and as Mount Barker is changing from its former rural character into a modern urban one, we see this occasion as a great chance to reconnect the public with the rural activities, crafts and cottage industries of times past.

The First Mt Barker Show was held in 1847 and was the forerunner to all other shows held in South Australia.

In 1862, the Show was held in Woodside. When a new Society was formed they held the first independent Show on Monday 7th March and it  operated under the title of the Mt Barker Agricultural & Horticultural Society. The famous Show pavilion of 1898 is now the present Show Office  site.

In 1987 the Mt Barker Bicentennial Committee formed and organized a once-only event for 1988, reviving the highly successful Cream Bowl  Festival of the 1960s. The name ‘Cream Bowl’ stemmed from the district’s prominence in the dairy industry. It was also decided to hold an indoor show in conjunction with the Bicentennial event, as the last Mt Barker Show was held in 1963. The indoor Show proved so popular that a steering committee took the lead to reform the Show Society, leading to the first revived Show being held in 1989. Many people with expertise were needed to convene different sections and a full show as we know it today with Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Trade space, Sideshows, Indoor exhibits was held on Saturday April 1st.

This year's Show is bound to be an exciting event for all the family to enjoy. Featuring indoor and outdoor exhibits, market stalls, showcasing local arts, crafts and foods, farm animals, cooking and produce exhibitions, as well as the traditional fun of the carnival clowns and bouncy castle and the rest, our 2015 Show is bound to be the best ever!

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We are very thankful to all our Show Committee Volunteers who give their time and effort to help create an event that celebrates our community.

The Mount Barker District Show would like to invite you to support this fun annual event. You could :

  Volunteer on the Show Committee
  Involve your community group
  Become a Young Rural Ambassador
  Apply for a membership
  Become an exhibitor
  Trade your wares at the Show

   Ask us how by contacting the Mount Barker District Show Society.