2025 Capella and District Agricultural Show Official Opening

Assistant Minister for Primary Industry Development, Water and Western Queensland and Member for Gregory, Mr Sean Dillon MP; Central Highlands Regional Council, Deputy Mayor Councillor Rachael Cruwys, and Councillor Gai Sypher; Capella Agricultural Show Society President Mr Drew Garside and committee members; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen; boys and girls.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Capella, the Wangan people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this afternoon.

I am delighted to make my first official visit to Capella at this time of community celebration, and I thank the Central Highlands Regional Council and the Capella and District Show Society for the invitation for us to be with you today.

My predecessors as Governor of Queensland have been drawn to this region for well over a century. Lord Chelmsford made a special trip to see Peak Downs for himself in 1908, staying at Magenta homestead and visiting Retro and Langton. He was followed in 1922 by Sir Matthew Nathan who was equally impressed by the open grasslands of the downs and the magnificent Peak Range. And the visit by Sir John and Lady Goodwin in 1931 was described in the newspapers as ‘a red letter day’ with visits to the CWA building, the racecourse and the Masonic Hall, and the official opening of the Woodlands tennis court, complete with a classic CWA afternoon tea.

That warm and generous hospitality has continued to the present, and I am very happy to be able to experience this region’s rich agricultural heritage and community spirit, as my predecessors did. It was that spirit that led to the establishment of the show in 1962 and has ensured its survival, through good seasons and bad. It’s a marvellous reflection of the resilience, determination, and pride built over generations in this community.

The show is a tribute to that commitment and to the values that make rural Queensland so special. Whether you’re here to inspect the prize-winning stock and local produce, see the woodchop, the fireworks or equestrian events, or to admire the crafts and the entries in the Rich Dark Fruitcake competition, there’s always something for everyone at a show.

It has been a particular pleasure for me to catch up with this year’s Showgirls and I hope to see them again when I host a reception at Government House during the Ekka for winners throughout the State.

The show is a time to reconnect, to support one another, and to recognise the incredible contribution that the farmers, graziers, and local businesses of this region make to Queensland, and I thank the organising committee and the many volunteers who have worked tirelessly to bring this year’s show to life. Without your dedication, it would simply not be possible.

When Queenslanders are asked to recall the 19^th century explorers who left the most lasting impact on regional and rural parts of our State, the names Leichhardt, Mitchell, and Kennedy are usually suggested, but, here in the Central Highlands, it’s the name Gregory that resonates most strongly, particularly Charles Frederick Gregory who surveyed and named Capella Creek in 1863.

Charles was one of four extraordinary brothers. All of them were excellent surveyors, all of them were interested in science, and all of them were daring explorers who knew how to navigate by the stars. It is no surprise then that Charles chose one of the brightest stars in the night sky as the name for the creek he surveyed here in 1863 – Capella.

In declaring the 2025 Capella Show open, I’d like to think that Charles would be proud to see that, today, there is a township called Capella that not only sits astride a highway bearing his name, but is definitely the brightest star of this region.

Thank you.