SYDNEY, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Fun-seekers are once again flocking to the Sydney Royal Easter Show (SRES), a beloved opportunity for people in Australia's largest city to savour the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of rural Australians.
Kicking off last Friday and continuing until next Tuesday, about 850,000 spectators are expected to go through the turnstiles to savour an overwhelming array of agricultural competitions, farm animal encounters, live entertainment, carnival rides and showbags crammed with sweets and toys.
City residents can see cows, bulls and horses parade in barnyard equivalents of beauty contests and watch the nation's best sheep shearers and woodchoppers in action as well as get up close and friendly with animals great and small.
The Farmyard Nursery has long been a family favorite and this year is featuring hundreds of animals such as sheep, chickens, Highland cattle and Shetland ponies which have been transported from across the nation to the "big smoke" of the capital of the state of New South Wales (NSW).
"These are Australia's local domestic farm animals. We're here to entertain the public, but also educate the public," Farmyard Nursery manager James Kemp told Xinhua.
Kemp hoped that these brief encounters with animals cute and cuddly or big and beastly might influence the show-goers to get back to the basics of life.
"A lot of people spend too much time in front of the TV or computer," Kemp said. "Now they can smell the animals, feel, and touch them. It's very tactile."
It is a great learning experience for everybody, he said, noting that it also helped children to understand where their food and raw materials such as wool come from.
A short stroll from the nursery, some talented agricultural students from Calrossy Anglican School, which is about 400 km from Sydney, were busily preening their cattle in preparation for a parade.
"Every morning, we get to the grounds by six," a student, Matthia Rudder told Xinhua. "And we take all the cattle out, we feed, bring them back in. They eat and then we go to breakfast. They'll get all pretty and nice, and then we take them to the ring."
Rudder's classmate Reese Spencer-Ruddy said being at the show was very educational, saying, "It's really good to learn about all the different breeds and different animals...and learn more about agriculture."
"We learn how to handle the stock and how to get them ready and lead them," Rudder added. "We parade them around. We can also see how judges judge all the other animals."
Wearing stylish Australian countryside uniforms, the bright-eyed girls constantly nod their heads and talk about their enthusiasm for all things agricultural. "We've grown up around agriculture; it is a really big passion for us."
It is a spirit that has been alive and well at the SRES since 1823 and, no doubt, will continue for generations to come. ■