Mrs Helen Wright
Outstanding contributions to the Sheep and Fleece competitions for over 37 years
Helen (R) with her sister Pam at the President’s Luncheon in 2022.
As a child, Helen Wright relished visiting the Melbourne Royal Show with her father; parking off Lang’s Road, seeing the animals, the woodchop, watching the grand parade from the grandstand – she loved it all. In the 1980s her focus turned to exhibiting fleece and it’s a passion she still holds today.
In 1989, Mrs Wright joined the Melbourne Royal Fleece Committee as a representative of the Woolclassers Association of Australia. Beginning as a junior steward when she wasn’t competing herself, she quickly progressed to chief steward, a position she still undertakes.
Mrs Wright won supreme champion black and coloured exhibit in 2019 with her grand champion ewe, ‘Kan - B Colours Olive, and also grand champion black and coloured lamb with ‘Kan - B Colours Poppy’, both ewes of her own breeding program.
Black and coloured sheep were first included in the Melbourne Royal Show in 1989 and Mrs Wright exhibited her sheep and displayed her product on the breed society stand. It brought interactions with an urban public she still recalls with amusement.
“I had two spotted lamb/sheep skins on display, leaving a young lass in charge. I went for a short break, when I returned she asked that I not do that again,” Mrs Wright said.
“A lady seeking to buy one skin wanted to order the skin off the same sheep next year so she could have a matching pair. When the lass explained that was not possible and why, the lady was horrified and would not buy.”
While there’s been a few of those head-scratching moments, Mrs Wright thoroughly enjoys sharing the agricultural sector at the Melbourne Royal Show every year.
“Seeing the successful culmination of a year's committee work with the completion of fleece judging is always a proud moment, as is staging a great display of fleece from our wool growing exhibitors to show our visiting public our wonderful natural fibre,” she said.
In 2022 Mrs Wright was presented with a President’s Medal at the President’s Luncheon for her contribution to sheep and wool for over 35 years.
Helen Wright won the Supreme Champion Black and Coloured Sheep in 2019.