In 1951, then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies, accompanied by Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society president J Keith Angas, past president Sir Walter Duncan and secretary HJ Finnis, attended the Royal Adelaide Show.
After a farewell luncheon with 25 young farmers, he commented on the South Australian passion for their local "royal".
"This is evidence that more people are interested in SA in exhibitions of this kind than in any other State in the Commonwealth, in proportion to population," he said.
"The quality of the exhibits, particularly those in the grand parade, astonished me. Their keenness is an encouraging sign for the future of primary production in Australia."
It is true that there is a strong affinity among many in SA for what is the state's largest event and the nation's second largest Royal Show, which has more than 50,000 people through the gates each day.
There are a multitude of events and competitions, such as pig judging, grains competitions, goat judging, woodchopping, horses on the main arena, and new classes coming through, such as the introduction of alpaca competitions in 1995.
There are also personal competitions, with the former Miss Showgirl competition and Miss and Mr Rural Youth evolving into the Rural Ambassador program.
Have a scroll through this collection from the Stock Journal and Royal Adelaide Show archives and step back through the years of the Royal Adelaide Show.
You can also view the RAS archives at rahs.com.au/about-us/history/archives
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