'Ploughing matches' were very much a feature of nineteenth century life in rural Australia - but are now largely forgotten.
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In Maitland and elsewhere they played a a dual role: firstly as sporting entertainments, but importantly they also provided training and opportunities for farm labourers to improve their skills and make some money 'on the side'.
No doubt those whose keen eye and sensitive handling of horses or bullocks saw them do well in matches were in a good position to bargain for better wages as well.
Matches, as the word implies, were competitive sporting encounters.
In the Maitland area from the mid-1840s they were annual affairs conducted by the Hunter River Agricultural Society in association with what became the Maitland Show.
Rules evolved and became standardised: ploughmen would have to plough a set area (most commonly half an acre) in a specified time, and they would then be judged on the straightness and evenness of depth of their furrows.
The ploughmen's handling of farm animals was on display along with advances in plough design.
Competition occurred in classes: Class A was the elite 'all-comers' class, often attracting a dozen or more ploughmen, and there was usually a class for those aged under 18.
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This was about developing the skills of new generations of ploughmen. Competitors learned from watching their peers and prowess was stimulated.
In the Maitland area the matches were held on various farms in Bolwarra, Oakhampton, East Maitland, West Maitland, Louth Park, Ravensfield and elsewhere.
Sometimes, sites to host the events were sought through advertising in the Mercury.
For many years, the winners of Class A matches received £4, and there were sometimes silver cups and medals as well, which were donated by leading citizens seeking to associate themselves with the events.
In one competition, at Ravensfield in 1845, first prize was a male calf and the second place-getter won a female pig.
At their peak, ploughing matches attracted hundreds of spectators.
There was betting on the results, ale was provided to the ploughmen as they worked, and afterwards there were sumptuous lunches and dinners in nearby inns.
Dinners were accompanied by dancing, toasts, speech-making and the awarding of prizes.
In the manner of the times 'three cheers' were called for the Society, its chairman and the judges.
Matches were reported in the Mercury, usually with quotes from the judges. Their praise for the quality of the ploughing witnessed was often fulsome.
Ploughing matches were held in many locations right across NSW, and in some years there was a kind of 'state championship' held at the Agricultural and Horticultural Association's grounds in Parramatta.
In 1869 this event attracted ploughmen from a wide area including the Hills District, the Hawkesbury, the Hunter, Bathurst, the Southern Highlands and the Shoalhaven. Ity has been reported that at noon on the day of competition there were 1500 people in attendance.
The prize for winning Class A was £10 - a not insignificant sum at the time.
There is no record of George Mead, a skilled ploughman who arrived from England in 1848 and settled near Lorn, ever having participated in ploughing matches either as a competitor or a judge.
But it is worth noting his son William, aged 26, won Class A in 1888.
Three years later the last Hunter River Agricultural and Horticultural Association's ploughing match was held.
Presumably, such matches were no longer useful to the farming economy of the Hunter.