Royal status for Ronald

By Jade Lawton
A LIFETIME committee member of the Pakenham and District Agricultural and Horticultural Society has been accepted on to the board of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria.
Jason Ronald OAM will be one of ten board members to oversee all the events run by the society, from the Royal Melbourne Show and the Royal Melbourne Horse Show, to beef handlers, beer and wine competitions.
The society will hold its annual general meeting in August, but Mr Ronald’s position is in the bag.
“I was informed there were four nominations for four positions,” he said.
Mr Ronald has a long history with the Pakenham and District Agricultural and Horticultural Society.
His late father, Peter Ronald, was on the committee for decades and is a former president. Mr Ronald said he’d been involved with Pakenham Show since he was born.
“I was riding show ponies many years ago and I’ve been involved in running the arena since 1981,” he said.
He was made a member of the committee in 1983 and a joint arena director shortly after. He has been a president of the society and is now a life committee member. “I started stewarding with the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria in 1973, as soon as I left school, and I was elected on to its council in 1991.”
Mr Ronald is now based in Tallarook, near Seymour, and still breeds ponies and fattens steers on his property.
He said Agricultural Shows were still an important place on the community calendar, but needed to draw in a new generation of show goers.
“There is a mixture of things at shows – members of the farming community are able to compete against each other and there are the inside competitions of cooking, plants, photography and art, a diverse range of competitions.
Then there are the rides and show bags. It really is a unique event,” he said. “The challenge ahead for the Royal Melbourne Show is to get it back on the Victorian Calendar. In years gone by it’s always been a major event and the loyal supporters go each year, but there are others we need to attract. We need to get the message out that the show is for everyone, the whole state can come together.”