Trophy Gallery

After an absence of some years, the RAS Trophy Gallery makes its return in a brand new purpose built home. This glittering display showcases the most prestigious of all Sydney Royal Easter Show awards, the perpetual trophies. Over 240 are on view. Beautiful and elegant, the perpetual trophies have a dual function in recognising excellence in competition and commemorating people and organisations that have had a long and meritorious connection with the RAS.

The tradition of perpetual trophies dates back to the 1870s when the Society introduced regulations to govern judges and judging to ensure that competition was consistent and fair. Some of the trophies currently competed for were first won in 1901.

Displaying the enormous variety of trophies to best advantage has been a complex design puzzle, especially given the practical challenges of housing the biggest, which weigh up to 35 kg.

Location: K4 - Open between 9:30am and 8pm each day.

Facts & Figures:

• The oldest on display in the gallery is the Stonehaven Cup which has been awarded almost every year since 1930 for Best Exhibit of Five Merino Sheep.

• However, the oldest perpetual trophy in the collection is the District Exhibit Shield. First presented in 1911, the Shield is on view at the District Exhibits display in the Dome.

• The newest perpetual trophy is the Ron Smith Perpetual Trophy. Awarded for Best Goat in Show on a rotational basis between the three breeds (Angora, Boer & Dairy), this trophy was presented for the first time in 2009.

• The Peter Duddy Memorial Perpetual Trophy is the most unusual in the collection and the heaviest. The bronze cast statue of a bull stands over 39 cm high and weighs over 35 kg. It is awarded for Best Angus Exhibit.
  

• Some of the most ornate trophies are the wine trophies. The Fine Partners Perpetual Trophy is one of the oldest pieces of silver in the collection. The trophy is a William IV silver gilt wine cooler and cover, made in Sheffield in 1831.  The body of the trophy is richly embossed with a band of fruiting vine and acanthus leaves to the base, the scroll handles decorated with applied grape and vine, the lid adorned with applied acanthus leaves and acanthus leaf knob.
  
  
• The Dan Murphy’s Perennial Trophy and the First Estate Perennial Trophy both take the form of clear glass wine ewers and date to circa 1870 and 1900 respectively.

• The largest trophy is the Alfred L George Memorial 'Willastone Cup' Perpetual Trophy with an overall height 68cm. This ornate silver plated trophy cup is of large chalice form and has a domed lid which features a figure of a greyhound. This trophy is awarded to a different group in the dog section each year.  In 2010 it will be awarded for Best Hound

• The smallest trophy is the “Bubbles” Field Perpetual Trophy. At just 19 cm high this Sterling silver cup was made by Hardy Bros. First presented in 2004, it is awarded for Most Successful Exhibitor in Hereford.

• Among the most prestigious trophies are the Hordern Perpetual Trophy and the Urquhart Perpetual Trophy in the cattle section, and the Duke of Gloucester Perpetual Cup which is now awarded to the winner of the World Championship Campdraft Competition. The trophy was donated by HRH The Duke of Gloucester (Governor General 1945 – 1947) in recognition of the particularly fine type of man encountered on station properties.