Alan Steinhardt has a long and rich history of showing and judging produce with the Marburg Show and surrounding exhibitions.
A life member at Marburg Show Society and Ipswich Show Society since 1985, Alan followed in the footsteps of his his father, Ernest, also a life member at Marburg.
“My brothers Merv and Doug were showing under Steinhardt Brothers and that rubbed off on me a bit,” Alan said.
He took over in the mid-1950s, growing pumpkins, grain, potatoes, maize and more.
“I excelled in that sort of stuff,” Alan said.
“I took over the chief stewardship for produce from my dad, Ernest, and I relinquished that job a couple years back.”
Alan said growing and showing produce was in his blood.
“I was probably still in school when I grew a few things in the garden,” he said.
“After I left school they put up a one-man exhibit in Marburg Show for a couple years, and I went into that.”
Alan was on the Marburg Show Society committee for almost 70 years, and spent 30 years as chief steward.
“In later years I’ve done a lot of local shows like Rosewood, Ipswich, Laidley, Gatton and Lowood,” he said.
“In the early 60s I got invited to go to Sydney Show, and that was a highlight of my career at the time.
“We put up a big exhibit, then it was ‘Moreton and Downs Queensland Exhibit’, now it’s South East Queensland District.”
Alan owns several boxes of folders filled with photos of exhibits from his time exhibiting at Sydney, Brisbane and other local shows.
Over the 60s, 70s and early 2000s, Alan spent around 20 years exhibiting at Sydney.
“I looked forward to it every year, and I used to grow a lot of things for it,” he said.
On 10 March, 1971 the Queensland Chamber of Agricultural Societies approved and recommended Alan to become a judge.
Fellow produce steward Keith Abraham said Alan was ‘pretty good’ at his job.
“In regard to judging grains, seeds and grasses and all that, that is a difficult job as far as I’m concerned, you’ve got to be pretty good to do that,” Keith said.
“It’s like going to the grocery shop, you’re looking for the best stuff, and that’s the way it is with grain and things,” Alan said.
“You don’t learn it overnight, it took me a lot of years.”
Judging took Alan around the region.
“I went up to Gympie and Kingaroy a lot of years ago, and even over the border I went to Tenterfield,” he said.
“Crows Nest, I’ve judged there, Esk, Toogoolawah and Kilcoy, Boonah and Kalbar.”
Alan said he’s always proud to be invited to judge.
“It’s an honour, I suppose… they don’t ask you to judge unless you’ve had a bit of experience,” he said.
While he no longer shows, Alan still grows produce on his Walloon property and makes sure to visit the Marburg Show every year.
“I’ve always supported Marburg, because that was my show, I’ve been there all my life,” he said.
In 2008, Alan was awarded the prestigious Queensland Ag Shows Meritorious Award.
“Only three people in Marburg Show have received one of them, and the other two are not with us anymore,” Alan said.
“At that time I think there was only two people in Queensland a year who got that award.
“That was quite an honour, for sure.”
