Arts & Culture
29 October, 2026
Sun shines on Picton Show
It wasn’t looking good late Friday – but organisers of this year’s Picton Show couldn’t have hoped for better weather conditions over the weekend.
It wasn’t looking good late Friday – but organisers of this year’s Picton Show couldn’t have hoped for better weather conditions over the weekend.
Thousands of people flocked through the gates for a packed program in spectacular Spring sunshine over two days.
This year’s show had something for everyone – from showbags and snakes to line dancing and live entertainment.
Frank Mackie from the Campbelltown Steam and Machinery Museum in Menangle Park was keen to talk about his creation – a combination of five steam pumps connected to the same boiler.
Mr Mackie said it was more than a talking piece.
He said he built it as a learning tool for young people interested in getting a boiler ticket.
One of the pumps was used to power a merry-go-round in the 1860s while another was built by Mr Mackie’s great-grandfather and dates back around 125 years.
Mr Mackie said the pump had ignited a life-long interest.
He found it in a shed and restored it during his days at Picton High School.
Sophie Stone from Itchy Goat Art in Razorback attracted a steady stream of visitors to her stall for a completely different reason – three four-month-old pygmy cross miniature goats.
Mrs Stone told The Southern Wire that children didn’t get enough opportunities to interact with farm animals – or when they did it was from behind a fence.
“They’re losing the enjoyment of animal time,” she said.
The goats are always a hit.
“The kids don’t want to leave.”
Mrs Stone said it was no surprise that more and more people were purchasing goats as pets.
She said goats loved to be cuddled and were good for mental health.
However they are a sociable herd animal so no matter how cute you can’t just settle for one goat.
“They need another animal to talk ‘goat talk’,” Mrs Stone said.
She said owning two goats was good but three was even better – just in case one dies.
She said goats that were kept on their own or that experienced the loss of a companion could be sad or even depressed on a long-term basis.
Mrs Stone said there were some drawbacks to having pet goats.
She said goats like to ‘talk back’ and could also be annoying when you wanted some ‘alone’ time.
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