Merredin Junior Farmers Club

On a recent trip to Merredin I visited the Merredin Historical Museum where I found the Merredin Junior Farmers Club Honour Board. The Board was an instant portal to my childhood with so many familiar surnames – Snell, Cahill, Flockhart, Giraudo, Smith, Last, Crosthwaite and of course Maughan. As I never joined Junior Farmers, or its successor Rural Youth, I thought I would conduct a bit of research to see what I could find out.

The first Western Australia Junior Farmers Club was formed in Harvey on 23 May 1935. The idea of the club was “to foster an agricultural youth movement by placing agricultural questions before the growing youth of the community of both sexes to induce them to take a real interest in their job.” The controlling committee was made up of representatives from a number of organisations including Agricultural Society, the Primary Producers Association, the Education Department and the Department of Agriculture. Members must be between the ages of 14 and 20 years and the members will appoint their own officers under the control committee.[1]

Clubs started to be formed throughout the agricultural region but the war intervened (1939-1945) and some clubs, such as Harvey went into recess as the majority of its members enlisted. By December 1946 the Harvey Club had reformed.[2] Also to lapse during the war years was the State Council of Junior Farmers’ Club and in 1947 the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia decided to reconstitute the State Council The following organisations were invited to nominate two representative for the State Council: Royal Agricultural Society of WA, Department of Agriculture, Education Department, Farmers' Union of WA, WA. Teachers' Union, Forestry Department, WA Pastoralists' Association, Rural and Industries Bank, National Fitness Council, Country Women's Association, Road Board Association of WA, University of WA, Parents and Citizens' Associations, and the Returned Servicemen's League.[3]

The formation of the Merredin Junior Farmers Club had been discussed many times during the 1940s and it seemed to be a difficult job getting a Club off the ground. At a meeting at the Youth Club on 19 November 1949, the President of the Agricultural Society Mr Wahlsten said “the Agricultural Society had not much faith in young farmers rallying together to form a club, but if they did the Society would help as much as possible.” Maybe this was the impetus needed to rally people as when the motion to form a Club was put to a vote it was passed unanimously. The election of officers was held with Chairman Mr Harry Snell, Vice-Chairman Mr Bob Gigney and Treasurer Mr Wahlsten junior.[4] Unfortunately Mr Snell was forced by ill health to step down and Mr Bob Gigney took over as President during 1950 with Mr Phil Dalton as Secretary. The first annual general meeting on 17 November 1950 had 26 attendees made up of members, the advisory committee and visitors.[5] By the end of its second full year the Merredin Junior Farmer Club was a strong organisation. At the Annual Meeting the retiring President Mr Phil Cahill said that “the Club had good reason to be satisfied with its progress. In addition to more than doubling its membership in the past 12 months, it had ranked high among clubs in the State.” The office bearers for 1952 were elected with President Mr Kevin Cahill, Vice-President Mr J Thyne and Secretary-Treasurer Miss Lesley Barnett.[6]

By 1952 the Merredin Club was showing its leadership capabilities when Kevin Cahill was judged as the State’s outstanding Junior Farmer under 21 years and was awarded a trip to the Adelaide Royal Show. This was the first of a long list of similar successes in the Club that followed. In 1953 new ground was broken when Miss Rae Loney became the Club’s first female President. In 1955 the Club’s debating team of Jim Flockhart, Phil Cahill and Rae Loney won their way through the Council Debating Championships, and finally carried off the State Championship. In the same year Ian Flockhart won the Outstanding Junior Farmer trip to Sydney and Phil Cahill was elected State President. In 1956 Jim Flockhart won the Outstanding Junior Farmer trip to Sydney and Mary Flockhart became the first female to win a trip to New Zealand.

All members of the Maughan family were very involved with the Merredin Junior Farmers Club and John was elected President in 1957. John excelled in Junior Farmers and in 1959 he won a three-month Outstanding Junior Farmer study tour of New Zealand. He was elected to the State Executive and served as the State Vice President.

On 20 August 1960 the Junior Farmers judging day was held at Kirkhaugh farm. Bob won three firsts: ewe culling, pasture and wool-classing (which was a tie with Barry Smith). The Achievement Day was held in Nungarin on 17 September. At the JF Annual Meeting held on 13 December Bob was elected as President. He also won the Club Project Cup.

Bob was President of the Merredin Club in 1961 (the year he turned 21) and in July he spent a week on a Junior Farmers camp. In October Marian heard that she had won Outstanding Junior Farmer for the Eastern District Council Zone and a trip to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. 1961 was certainly a productive and busy year for Marian and Bob as they were running the Kirkhaugh farm as their parents, Gwen and Syd, were overseas.

Eric Maughan, brother to Arnold, Syd and Stewart Maughan, visited Western Australia in 1962 and in his diary he described the 1962 Junior Farmers Achievement Day. “It was a big event as Merredin was the Host Club. The Council is made up of 13 clubs, the futherest away being 100 mile. Peter is the secretary and has a great deal of work to do with meetings etc. On Friday 14 September there was a concert at Junior Farmers and Jill sang two songs “Where ‘ere you walk” and “The Merry Minstrels.” It was a splendid performance in front of a large audience at Town Hall. Saturday 15^th was the Achievement Day which was very successful. The Chairman of NFH Mr Grant MacDonald was full of praise saying it was the best he had ever seen.”[7] Bob came third in the ram judging that year.

But Junior Farmers was more than just agriculture and farming. It was an organisation where young people could socialise and meet other young people. It was through Junior Farmers that my parents met. Evelyn Clayton, who was known to everyone as Topsy, had arrived in Merredin in January 1962 to teach Domestic Science at the High School. One of the first people Topsy met when she arrived was Shirley Taylor, a teacher at the Primary School. Soon after arriving in Merredin Shirley dragged Topsy along to Junior Farmers where she met Bob and before long they started going out together. Topsy, Bob and Marian were all active participants in the Junior Farmers debating teams and they travelled to other towns to debate and have fellowship.[8]

 

Note: There is much more to this story and my aim is to add to this post as I find out more about the Maughan family involvement in the Merredin Junior Farmers Club

 

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[1] The West Australian, 28 May 1935, Junior Farmers, p10

[2] The West Australian, 19 December 1946, Junior Farmers Harvey Club Reformed, p17

[3] The West Australian, 25 January 1947, Junior Farmers’ Club State Council Reconstituted, p6

[4] Merredin Mercury, 24 November 1949, Junior Farmers Form a Club in Merredin, p3

[5] West Australian, 18 November 1950, Junior Farmer Clubs, p6

[6] West Australian, 7 December 1951, More Junior Farmers

[7] Eric Maughan 1962, Travel Diary: 14 Aug 1961 – 21 Nov 1962, original held by Catherine Maughan

[8] Evelyn Maughan 2013, Evelyn’s Story 1941-2013. A Memoir, copy held by Catherine Maughan