In nearly 20 years showing sheep at the Royal Adelaide Show, Kangaroo Island Polwarth breeders the McArdle family, Parndana, had won so many many ribbons and trophies they had taken over one of the rooms in their farmhouse.
But all this was reduced to ashes in early January 2020, when David and his late wife Lynne's house burnt down, along with another cottage on their farm, all of their boundary fencing and much of the internal fencing, and a few sheds and implements.
All up, the KI fires burnt through more than 210,000 hectares - about 40 per cent of the Island.
So when the RAHS of SA's pastoral committee member Andrew Duncan presented David McArdle, his son Jared and daughter Talisa, with more than a dozen replacement champion ribbons won by their Taljar stud from 2017, 2018 and 2019, during the interbreed judging, it was an emotional moment.
"I am gobsmacked. It has obviously been a tumultuous time the past two or three years, but this means so much to me," David said.
David is looking forward to making them pride of place in his nearly-completed new home, after first living in a donated bus, then a special pod provided by the Minderoo Foundation for a few months and for much of the past two years in the house in Parndana, about five kilometres from the farm.
"No one can really know what it is like to lose all of your possessions until you have," he said.
"We really do need to move on from the fires though, which is why we are here. It has been great to be back showing and seeing everyone again."
David said the first green shoots of vegetation had given him a big lift after the fires, but to see his new home nearly completed was also a tremendous sight.
David's father Vincent first started breeding Polwarths after seeing them at the 1957 Royal Adelaide Show.
They have proven their suitability to KI's wet conditions, with their McArdle family's wool remaining white and bright.
In 2000, David judged the Polwarths at Adelaide and the family has been exhibiting sheep from their Taljar Polwarth stud at most of the shows since, as well as making the annual pilgrimage to the Australian Sheep & Wool Show at Bendigo, Vic.
"It gets in your blood - you really enjoy seeing everyone. It is a big week for the kids, but they love it too," Talisa said.
Jared and Talisa said they really appreciated the society's kind gesture.
"The ribbons were just one of the many things we thought were gone forever, so for the show society to do that is fantastic," Jared said.
"It was all very unexpected, but it is a beautiful thought."
Jared says they are slowly but surely getting back on their feet and still consider themselves fortunate, given the ferocity of the blaze, to have only lost 170 sheep.
"Dad's house is almost completed, bar a few little things. We have a bit of water connection to go, but most of the boundary fences are almost done," he said.
