Agricultural history lives on at anniversary Golden Plough

Aleks Berzins has taken out top honours at the 50th anniversary Golden Plough, held in near-perfect conditions at Peak Hill. Recent rain delivered an ideal paddock for the horse-drawn single-furrow plough competition, with soft, workable soil and a picturesque backdrop impressing both competitors and judges. A strong crowd turned out to mark the milestone, with visitors travelling from across the east coast and as far as Perth for the well-supported weekend. Berzins claimed first place, with Darren Gavin second and Jason Gavenlock third in a competitive field. Bill Norris harnessed up Barney and Bertie for the event in recognition of his family's long association with the Golden Plough. Among those taking part was Bill Norris, whose father, Wilf Norris OAM, founded the Golden Plough in 1976. Competing with his Australian Draft Horse team, Barney and Bertie, Bill has been preparing for his first Golden Plough over the past six months, honouring the family’s long connection to the event - and the family gathered at Peak Hill for the occasion. Wilf started the Golden Plough in 1976 to preserve the art of ploughing the ground with a hand drawn plough and horses, a skill which was in danger of fading into history with the advent of tractors, computerised sowing plants and large scale broadacre farming. The inaugural Golden Plough was won by Bill’s grandfather, Bill Norris Snr, using a three-furrow Millboard plough drawn by four horses. Although Wilf passed away in October 2023, his legacy continues, with the Golden Plough attracting competitors from across Australia each year. The event, which has been staged at various locations across the Central West, returned to the Peak Hill Showground for the second consecutive year in 2026. Festivities continued across the weekend with ploughing, log snigging and obstacle course events, with junior competitors also stepping up to take the reins. Jason Gavenlock put Gracie through her paces in the Obstacle Course where horse and trainer worked together to balance logs on a range of obstacles.