Aussie Flavour Beasts Of Outback Buck In The Big City
Illawarra Mercury
Friday April 14, 2000
There was movement in the arena, for the word had passed around, the beasts were about to enter the bay.
And so the media was mustered safely in a cluster to a haven well out of harm's way.
From the safety of the sidelines The Illawarra Mercury was treated to a sneak preview of The Royal Easter Show which opens today at Homebush Bay.
And if you haven't already guessed from the poor Banjo Paterson introduction - the theme is the Great Australian Muster. Australian icons, including the Man from Snowy River, feature prominently.
One noticeable omission from the Show's icons was the Holden motor car. For the past 31 years the Holden Precision Driving team has churned up the dust on four and two wheels. This year Holden chose to concentrate on Olympic sponsorship and Hyundai has taken over the reins.
But there is no disputing that beer is representative of Australian culture so it was fitting that brewery Clydesdales rolled out the kegs and re-created a traditional 19th century beer delivery.
Unfortunately, it was not delivered to the throng of thirsty media.
We settled instead for soft drink and watched in apprehension as two burly Brahman bulls wandered lazily around the arena, eyeing us with interest.
I silently congratulated myself for not wearing a red shirt and wondered if the flimsy stage would protect me from nearly a tonne of angry animal.
One man who has no fear of the beast is champion Australian bullrider Brendon Clark.
His only fear is big crowds - and with more than a million people expected to visit the show over the next two weeks he was feeling a little scared.
``I hate big crowds - this will be the biggest I have ever ridden in front of," he said.
``Hopefully, the adrenalin will kick in and I will forget about it."
Fellow champion Bronco rider Kerry Wellington suffers from a similar phobia - put these guys on a kicking, snorting beast and they are fine but in front of a crowd they turn to jelly.
The show will run until April 29.
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury
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