The Historical Geographies of Showing Livestock: a Case Study of the Perth Royal Show, Western Australia

Abstract

This paper examines changes in the entries of livestock to competitions at the Perth Royal Show in the course of the twentieth century. It identifies trends in the showing of animals at the Show and explains these with reference to the wider geographies of state and national agricultural change in Western Australia (WA). In doing so, it provides a longitudinal perspective on the socioeconomic contexts of farming in WA and identifies some of the key cultural and economic drivers that have influenced livestock farming in that locality. In turn, these findings contribute to wider understandings of the global countryside and of the imagined ruralities that exist within and beyond the spaces of showgrounds.