That connection will be once again formed when former members of the Yarrawonga Club or any other Victorian Young Farmers Club gather on the lawns of the Yarrawonga Yacht Club on Sunday, March 19, 2023.
There is no invitation list, just word of mouth contact. The function will commence at 10.30am when people can gather for fellowship and by 12.00 noon ready for lunch at 12.30pm. It will be a BYO function completely, including your own food, seating, and facilities to take your own litter home.
From humble beginnings in the very early 1900s the Young Farmer Club Movement in Victoria had a long, yet interesting, transition from small towns having calf clubs through to a highly regarded organisation right across rural Victoria.
Several calf clubs had been established, some very successfully, but all having their activities limited to cattle project work and very little, if any, direct connection between the project and the subjects of the school curriculum.
The first Victorian Young Farmers Club was commenced in the Ballarat district at Newland State School by the head teacher, John Stimpson, in March 1927. This led to clubs which held lectures, debates, concerts and dances in the local community.
Various state bodies, Education Department and Department of Agriculture, along with community bodies, Rotary Clubs and Agricultural Societies, were instrumental in setting out the criteria on which clubs were formed. Through the early 1930s it seems that junior members were to be under 18-years-of-age and senior members over 18-years-of-age.
By January 31, 1935 there were 110 schools in Victoria affiliated with the Victorian Young Farmers Club Association and by November 1941 some 202 school clubs had paid their affiliation fess for the coming year.
In 1947 a set of Aims and Objectives were written and adopted by the Victorian Young Farmers Club Association, and with very little amendments, these formed the foundation on which the organisation flourished with some 75 clubs being established from 1950 to the end of 1956. These guidelines included membership being restricted to people aged from 15 years to 25 years, at which age members could no longer participate.
The policy of No Alcohol at an Official Young Farmer function was the trademark of the organisation and set a great example for all members of the farming community.
In 1955 a small group of parents of young people in the Yarrawonga district met to consider starting a club in Yarrawonga. These people included Jim McDonald, Jim Thomas, Orm Wallace, Jim Pigdon and Frank Keenan. This inaugural meeting was held in an office of a bank on the southwest corner of Belmore and Orr streets in Yarrawonga.
Yarrawonga club forms in 1955
The Yarrawonga Young Farmers Club was officially formed on August 18, 1955, with 50 members and, after formation, the club held monthly meetings in the table tennis pavilion at the showgrounds before settling on the CWA Hall in Hovel Street as the home base for the majority of its existence.
The first President elected to the Yarrawonga Club was Wallace Bruce who, in 1957-1958 was elected as State President of the Victorian Young Farmers Association, a position later held by Jan Nowell (Davis) of the Yarrawonga club in 1979-1980. For the duration of the Yarrawonga club, 1955 to mid-1980s, it was the only club in Victoria to have provided two State Presidents.
The first supervisor to be appointed was Bob Irwin 1956 – 1959 who was followed by Andy Shirley from 1959 until 1971 when he took leave to go to England. At the monthly club meetings there were often guest speakers to provide interesting talks to club members on subjects that were aligned with the aims and objectives of the organisation.
The primary objective for Young Farmer Clubs was to develop and promote
Social-Culture–Agriculture activities and skills among young people in the rural areas of Victoria.
The State of Victoria comprised five areas of clubs, covering 18 districts and each district had several clubs.
District Annual Achievement Days were held where competitions included shearing sheep - female tyre change teams - sheaf tossing - farm obstacle motorbike riding - dress making – cooking – welding – ploughing championships. following these district events, the winners would then compete in the state achievement day which would be held at a different location each year.
As with many community-based organisations the number of members, and hence clubs, started to decline with the changes across the agricultural community in 1990s and Young Farmer Clubs were virtually non-existent into the 2000s.
At an ever-increasing rate it seems that the most common times for former members of the Yarrawonga Young Farmers Club to come together is at the funeral of one of their members.
At one such gathering in May 2022 it was suggested that an informal social gathering would be a good way to meet old friends and this suggestion has led to a gathering being planned.
‘Do you remember when’ is a phrase that will be used many times on March 19, 2023 at the Yarrawonga Yacht Club. The day will provide participants with opportunities to re-kindle friendships and re-visit memorable moments and events that made the Victorian Young Farmers Clubs the wonderful organisation that it was.
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