After more than a two-year wait, it was finally showtime in Wee Waa on the weekend.

The show’s comeback was highly anticipated after COVID-19 was a showstopper in many country towns in 2020 and 2021, so the community was beyond thrilled to see the return of the Cotton Capital’s much-loved weekend of family fun and entertainment.

Sideshow alley was buzzing, the new pavilion was home to beautiful exhibits and the crowd couldn’t get enough of the competitions – from the cross cut saw to the wood chopping and horses in the showground’s main arena.

“I feel it was a success,” said Wee Waa Show Society president Gary Hibbens.

“The sun was shining, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.”

Gates opened on Friday, with the pet competition one of the main attractions on Friday afternoon as children showed off their favourite animals, great and small.

Member for Parkes Mark Coulton officially opened the show at 7pm and announced the winners of the 2022 Young Woman of the Year competition.

Junior entrants included Caitlyn Coutts-Smith, Mackenzie Jones and Caitlin Kable, with Bryony Allen nominating for the senior title.

Bryony Allen was sashed Senior Wee Waa Young Woman of the Year and Mackenzie Jones was named Junior Wee Waa Young Woman of the Year.

Formerly known as the Showgirl competition, the popular youth development program has undergone a name change recently to better reflect the spirit of the event in honouring young rural women and to ensure the relevance of the competition well into the future.

2021 Young Woman of the Year Georgia Dickinson, and announcers Katie Watson and Ali Smith praised the four entrants for being outstanding rural ambassadors. All entrants presented well and were incredibly supportive of each other during the judging process.

All entrants in this year’s Young Woman of the Year competition shared a common drive to contribute to the Wee Waa district and passion for agricultural communities. Their love of the country reflected this year’s Wee Waa Show theme – Life in the Bush.

The entrants discussed some brilliant ideas about ways to improve life in regional areas, from healthcare initiatives to suggestions for events such as the show.

2022 Senior Young Woman of the Year Bryony Allen impressed the crowd with the speech she delivered on Friday night.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank Georgia Dickinson, the head steward of the 2022 Wee Waa Young Woman competition,” she said.

“She has worked tirelessly over the past few months to ensure that the 2022 competition is a positive experience for everyone.

“Thank you to the Wee Waa Show Society, including the executive committee, Gary Hibbens, Trish Dickinson and Beth Drysdale. I’ve seen firsthand how hard you guys work to ensure that show weekend is successful and enjoyable for the whole community. I commend you and thank you.

“A big thanks to this year’s judges of the Wee Waa Young Woman Competition, Ali Smith, Ben Palmer and Emma Bailey, for giving up their time over the past few weeks to judge the competition and for making the process so enjoyable for all entrants.

“To the Junior Young Woman entrants, Mackenzie, Caitlyn and Caitlin, you have carried yourselves with such pride throughout this competition. Each of you are beyond worthy of this title, and you should be so proud of yourselves for putting yourselves forward in this competition.

“To the community for venturing out tonight despite the cold. The support from the community never goes unnoticed by the society, so thank you.”

Bryony also expressed her gratitude to the show’s sponsors.

“Without you guys, tonight wouldn’t be possible. We’re extremely grateful for your generous contributions,” she said.

“The young woman initiative is a great opportunity to gain various skills in interviewing and public speaking, as well as a great opportunity to network with like-minded young women.

“I would definitely encourage any girls between the ages of 14 to 17 and the ages of 18 to 25 to enter the competition next year and experience the competition for yourself.”

Nineteen-year-old Bryony completed her HSC in 2021 at Wee Waa High School and has been accepted into a Bachelor of Animal Science at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. Bryony will commence this course in 2023 at the completion of her gap year this year.

She is currently working at Agies Rural along with caring for cattle at Coonamble.

One of her greatest passions is showing cattle, this is a hobby she has been actively pursuing for the past seven years.

“I just feel she is an amazing person, mature beyond her years,” said Bryony’s mum Robyn following the announcement.

Robyn said Bryony works incredibly hard and enjoys being involved in shows.

Junior Young Woman of the Year Mackenzie Jones is a Wee Waa High School student and active community member.

The 17-year-old has a part-time job at Wee Waa Hot Bread and volunteers at Western Namoi Veterinary Services.

Mackenzie is a referee for Wee Waa and Narrabri junior and senior soccer clubs, deputy mayor of the Narrabri Shire Youth Council and a member of the NSC youth mental health podcast project.

She is a member of the WWHS Show team and Bush Bots Robotics team and thoroughly enjoys attending agricultural shows across the state participating in cattle parading and junior judging.

Mackenzie told The Courier she was thrilled to be awarded the Junior Young Woman of the Year title.

“This experience meant a lot to me as it allowed me to learn more about myself while enhancing skills such as public speaking and social engagement,” she said.

“With that being said, I want to thank the Wee Waa Show Society for all their efforts in regards to this competition, as well as Georgia Dickinson, you did a fabulous job.

“I’d also like to thank and congratulate the other entrants, Caitlyn and Caitlin, you guys rightful deserve to win as much as I do.

“I’d finally like to send out my thoughts to the Kiem family, especially Tracy, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without your love and support.”

“I am extremely proud of the young woman Mackenzie is becoming, her future is looking very bright,” said Mackenzie’s mum Nettie Jones.

Wee Waa Show Society president Gary Hibbens congratulated the Young Woman entrants and told The Courier it was great to see not only the entrants but other young people in the community support the show.

“It gives me confidence that the tradition of the Wee Waa Show will continue long into the future,” he said.

“A highlight for me was also seeing everything come together in that pavilion, it’s hard work to have all those exhibits on display and we had a great team of people rallying together. “

Mr Hibbens and a dedicated committee of volunteers did an outstanding job, especially considering the false starts and challenges of COVID restrictions.

It was Mr Hibbens’ first show as president, and there were a lot of new committee members.

“We learnt a heap of things, and we’ll have a chat about how it all went, but it was a great weekend, and it was great to have the support from locals.”

Mr Hibbens thanked volunteers, sponsors, and attendees for making the show’s comeback so spectacular.

And he urged any volunteers who wanted to contribute next year to contact the show society.

“People might just be willing to help out at working bees or with the set-up but don’t want to come to the meetings – that’s okay, we’d love to hear from you.”

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