Whittlesea was once a country town, but its endless green pastures 55 kilometres north-east of Melbourne are becoming housing estates and its population is soaring.
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The Whittlesea Show, to be held at the local showgrounds on November 5 and 6, is still resolutely country in style, however: it's full of old-school competitions that wouldn't have been out of place when the show started in 1859.
Locals slave for months to perfect creations in categories such as best bale of hay, best knitted jumper in team colours, and best ginger fluff sponge. They still show off their chooks, Clydesdales and stud sheep.
Quirky categories include best decorated bra, article knitted by a gentleman, odd shaped fruit or vegetable and grass animal grown in pantyhose.
In the Authentic Australian Dunny Competition, contestants must construct an outdoor loo on the spot without using welding or power tools.
For the Hawke family, the Whittlesea Show is an annual ritual – 19 of the clan, aged three to 83, either help organise the event or compete in categories from jam to ducks, knitting and biscuits.
Matriarch Bev Hawke, 76, of Whittlesea, is famous for her scones, a field in which there is fierce competition. She says "no one gets nasty", but not long ago she won five years in a row and rivals pestered her to reveal her secrets. She'll never tell, other than give the titbit that her wood stove gives her scones more colour than an electric oven.
Whittlesea Agricultural Society secretary Tracey Goss says the show is run by 300 volunteers. There are 5000 entries from local schools.
The show can educate non-country people "on where their food comes from, what sheep wool feels like, how to milk a cow", she says.
Bev's daughter-in-law, Erica Hawke, 36, of Kinglake West, who runs the Farm and Garden section and is an entrant in the rhubarb and hanging baskets competitions, says the show brings her family – and the community – together.
"If you don't enter, then there's no show and these things die out. Even if it isn't your most amazing piece of work, you still have to put it in so there's something to judge against. I do a lot of volunteer work and I enjoy seeing the smiles on the kids' faces when they win a ribbon or award for the article they've entered. I'm happy to give my time to work towards a successful show.
"I can pretty much guarantee that my kids [Hunter, 9, Evelyn, 7, Alice, 5, and Oliver, 3] will take over. We love being in the show, we love setting up the displays, cleaning, helping out. They help me wash the jars for the rhubarb. Whatever needs to be done, we work together as a team."
