VISITORS to this year’s Rural Discovery Day at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds were treated to some ear-splitting whip-cracking by talented students from St Mary’s College, Kingaroy.
As they cracked their whips, including a massive bull whip, the sound could be heard reverberating around the showgrounds by the audience of primary school students from city schools, including a group from St Finbarr’s School, Ashgrove, and St Columba’s School, Wilston.
Rural Discovery Day showcases Queensland’s primary industries to city students offering them a unique hands-on learning experience to crack whips, milk cows, pot seeds, taste honey directly from a hive, discover where their food comes from, talk to real farmers, and taste some of the best produce Queensland has to offer
The day kicked off with the whip-cracking demonstration from St Mary’s and a sheep dog round-up on the main arena.
St Mary’s deputy principal Sean Erwin said it was an honour the college had been asked to open the event.
He said whip-cracking was part of the culture of the college community, with many of the students coming from quite large farms in the South Burnett region.
“For them whip-cracking is just a normal part of their day, particularly when they are mustering their own cattle,” he said.
Mr Erwin said the team later enjoyed some of the other workshops available on the day and had great fun teaching some whip-cracking skills to their city cousins.
St Mary’s Year 9 student Olivia Frahm said it was exciting enough to be a part of Rural Discovery Day, but to be asked to open the event was even better.
She said everybody on the team was nervous and shaking on the bus on the way to the showgrounds.
“But when we arrived and got out in front of the audience everything fell into place and it was an experience we won’t forget,” she said.
“This was a great way for us as country kids to show the kinds of things we do as part of our lives living in the country,” she said.
Olivia said her dad taught her how to crack a whip when she was very young as they used whips in their everyday lives on the farm.
“It’s something I love doing and I really enjoy learning new tricks,” she said.
