East Gippsland’s Field Days are set to return to the Bairnsdale Aerodrome this Friday, April 11 and Saturday, 12, 2025 and are slated to be even bigger than the highly successful 2024 show.
The Field Days are one of the most iconic agricultural event on the East Gippsland calendar, with last year’s bumper crowd showing that the East Gippsland Field Days are as much loved by local businesses and families as they always have been.
Chairman, Marty Woodward said the event is a “fine example of local people in local communities coming together for the benefit of the community”.
The current committee is headed up by event coordinator Sue-Ellen Latham, secretary/treasurer Kay Davidson and committee members Rob Treasure, Nigel Plunkett, David Patterson, John Ingram, John Morton and John Whitbourne.
The Field Days have been proudly run by the Lindenow Lions Club since its inception and what many people don’t realise is that in addition to supporting rural and agricultural businesses, some of the funds raised from the field days by the Lindenow Lions Club are donated back to local charities and community organisations each year.
In recent years the funds from field days have helped Lindenow’s and surrounding district’s local sporting clubs, schools, kindergartens and various groups to upgrade facilities, purchase new equipment and uniforms, and to complete a range of projects.
The East Gippsland Field Days showcase the products, equipment and services of local vendors as well as giving visitors a perfect opportunity to experience the vast range of activity in the vivid and productive region of East Gippsland – a “win-win” situation for both producers and visitors.
A LONG HISTORY
The East Gippsland Field Days began in 1986, with the first two events held on Trevor and Judy Richardson’s property two kilometres west of Lindenow.
The first year, May 1–2 1986, there were 83 exhibitors but an increase in exhibitors the following year meant a new site had to be found.
Between 1989 and 1992 the Field Days were held on Jim and David Johnston’s property at Walpa. The only exception was 1990 when major flooding of the Mitchell River resulted in the cancellation of the Field Day that year.
By 1992 there were 130 exhibitors, so a more permanent site had to be found.
The Lindenow Lions Club worked with the East Gippsland Shire to secure a site at the Bairnsdale Aerodrome which has accommodated the event’s continued growth ever since.
The annual event hasn’t come without its challenges, with the 2020 Field Days cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however the following year saw the Bairnsdale Aerodrome come alive with visitors who came out to show their support.
This year’s East Gippsland Field Days will feature more than 250 agricultural and rural exhibitors, as well as food and family entertainment, including the ever-popular woodchop, sheep dog trials, reptile and animal shows and live music.
A new addition to this year’s Field Days will be a makers’ market alongside the Gippsland Agricultural Group facility, with more than 50 exhibitors on display, and for the not-so-faint-hearted the flying motor bikes are performing.
As a rural region East Gippsland has significant equipment, product and service needs, making it the best opportunity for visitors to see a vast range of products and services in one location.
