By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
GREATER Dandenong Council is exploring how it can ensure the survival of the 143-year Dandenong Show tradition.
Councillor Matthew Kirwan last month said the annual show was vulnerable, especially if foul weather drove away crowds in consecutive years.
“It increasingly … faces the challenges of such shows being expensive to run, the increasingly multicultural nature of Greater Dandenong and the need to market itself to a region not just a municipality.
“A bumper crowd and profit one year can be followed by a number of years of poor weather leading to years that leave the event in the red.”
Cr Kirwan proposed the council consider a “partnering role” to ensure the viability of the show, which he descibed as a “much loved institution”.
Dandenong Agricultural and Pastoral Society president Ricky Ferris said show crowds could range from 10,000 in poor weather to 20,000 in good conditions.
“In the last few years, the weather has been the difference between a loss or a profit.
“We don’t set out to make much of a profit – we try to keep costs down for families.
“If we have too many more bad years we mightn’t be able to survive them.”
He said the show needed help attracting “big name” sponsors as well as to get patrons from a range of cultural backgrounds.
“We’ve been one of the biggest shows in the area for a long time.
“It’s vital for the area too – the Royal Melbourne Show is expensive so this is an affordable chance for locals to see the animals and the showbags.”
