We came, we saw and we conquered the crowds at the Perth Royal Show 2008!
And what a show it was! With almost 400 000 people through the gates in the eight days of the Show and with our spruikers calling out “live crocs, dead cane toads”, “Hugh and Nicole’s outfits” and “come and see our big pumpkin!”, the Wyndham and Kununurra Guest Town Pavilion saw approximately 6000 to 7000 people through the door each day.
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The tireless efforts of a small and dedicated band of Kununurra and Wyndham volunteers, Visitor Centre and Shire staff ensured that people left the pavilion with a little more knowledge about the East Kimberley.
We featured Tropical Forestry Services, Argyle Diamonds and the Kimberley Toad Busters, as well as Kununurra and Wyndham tourism operators within the Pavilion.
We were also lucky enough to secure the services of many a Wyndham or Kununurra identity throughout the course of the show (we all remember Vaggy, Janine Milne, Margaret Woodland, Bev Hamilton, Melissa McDonald, David Muir & Katie Innes - just to name a few!), they all did a fabulous job, whether it was spruiking on the front line or answering questions about boabs or showbags (for the umpteenth time!). They all came in and left the pavilion with a smile on their faces and a skip in their step! Many thanks must go to these dedicated people, especially to John Buchanan who spent most of the week at the show along side Narelle, Tracey and Natika - and SURVIVED!!
Throughout show week, our region was heavily featured in both broadcast and print media, including a live weather broadcast which occurred from the pavilion on the Monday night during the show with Channel 9, featuring the Wyndham Croc Farm’s Chris Lim and one of his star attendees, baby croc ‘Snappy’.
Among visitors to the pavilion were Dr Ken Michael, Governor of Western Australia and his entourage. Dr Michael attended the pavilion in his official capacity and chatted to stall holders; he only attended a handful of exhibits.
We also saw Adrian Barich in the pavilion and couldn’t resist getting a picture of him holding one of the baby crocodiles, for which he happily posed. We thought a picture of "Bara with a croc" was novel by the end of the week!
The winners of the hampers each evening were all thrilled with their stash of East Kimberley goodies, courtesy of generous local businesses. The following people walked away very happy show-goers: Y Harvey of Claremont, H Robertson of Safety Bay, H Brown of Geraldton, B Fowler of Byford, A Bozyk of Noranda, J Cavanagh of Duncraig, T Whiting of Ridgewood and J Martin of Carine.
Our grand prize winner was one very excited lady too; Mrs B King of Cloverdale will be experiencing all that the East Kimberley has to offer when she books her holiday some time in 2009.
Without the support of the agricultural, tourism and mining industries in the region and the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley, the pavilion wouldn’t have been as informative and successful as it was (it should also be noted that were it not for the Shire nominating for this event, Narelle, Natika and Tracey wouldn’t be the basket cases they are after the event!).
It was a great team effort and we have whetted the appetites of many a city slicker!
