Bev Laurissen - A Lifetime at the Red Hill Show

Bev Laurissen has been coming to the show for as long as she can remember. The 90 year old Red Hill South local was born on an orchard, cleared and settled by her family in the 1860s. “Mum was part of the catering corps under Mrs. Littlejohn and Dad was a horse steward,” says Bev. “I can remember helping him peg out the flagon barrel race,” she says, referring to an equestrian event of speed and skill navigating a course between 44 gallon drums.

Bev holds up a silver cup and a rose bowl won by her father in 1934 for his export quality apples. “It wasn’t a great yielding season and Dad was able to find time to walk the orchards and hand pick a case of his best apples,” she says. “Back in those days there were no fancy varieties. It was Jonathan, Yates, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith.”

Her mother was a keen knitter and won a first prize for a pair of hand knitted socks the following year. Bev carefully unwraps them from tissue paper to reveal an exquisitely crafted pair of men’s socks, ribbed above the ankle with a padded heel flap for comfort. “She kept on entering them year after year,” says Bev with a laugh. “Until someone changed the rules.”

For Bev the show has always been an integral part of the local community calendar. “It was social, a chance to see people you hadn’t seen since the last year,” she says. “And there used to be a ball.”

Bev has worked in Scott House (the Red Hill Show’s HQ), helping with admin over the years, and still has a bottle of herbed vinegar she won a blue ribbon for in 2010. “I was born and bred for the show,” she says. “I look forward to it every year.”