Summary

Australia Victoria
Medal - Port Phillip Farmers' Society Gold Prize 1856 (AD)
Mint: Kangaroo Office ?
Awarded to Mr D. Patullo
Other Details: Awarded to David Patullo by the Port Phillip Farmers Society (now known as Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria) for his sample of cape barley at the 'Exhibition of Grain, Seeds, & Farm Produce'. The Exhibition was held each year in March, and in 1856 was held at the Corn Market, Melbourne. This medal is one of only three known in gold. Patullo also won a medal in the 1857 competition - probably the same medal - for the 'Best 20 Bushells Cape Barley...52 lbs 2oz per Bushell'. This latter medal was awarded in Division 1 - Open Competition. Five gold medals were awarded that year, and 17 silver - an increase from 1856. David Patullo won one of the silver medals as well - second prize for a yearling filly. The competition was transferred to the larger Olympic Theatre, Melbourne, that year. David Patullo was a paid-up member of the Port Phillip Farmers' Society. A David Patullo, born 1816, migrated to Australia from Perthshire, Scotland, in 1841 with his wife Agnes. Other brothers soon followed, all becoming farmers in the Craigieburn area, Wollert and Bulla. The Port Phillip Farmers' Society was formed in 1848 from a number of earlier farmers' societies in Victoria. The Society aimed to improve agricultural practices to meet the food needs of a growing population, and conducted ploughing matches in the area around Flemington. In 1855 it established showgrounds in Parkville, opposite the present site of The University of Melbourne. The current showgrounds in Ascot Vale were not established until 1882.

Physical Description

A gold prize medal (38 mm. diameter) featuring a rural scene of farm house, reclining cow, sheep, horse and tools below gum tree branch and details of the prize engraved within open wreath below small Kangaroo

Obverse Description

Rural scene of farm house, reclining cow, sheep, horse and tools below gum tree branch; in exergue in tiny letters, ARNOLDI

Reverse Description

Engraved within open wreath below small Kangaroo, Twenty Bushels / CAPE BARLEY / PRIZE / awarded to / Mr. D. Patullo / 1856; around, PORT PHILLIP FARMER'S SOCIETY; below, INSTITUTED 1848

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

The 'Exhibition of Grain, Seeds, & Farm Produce' was held each year in March, and in 1856 was held at the Corn Market, Melbourne. The following year it was held at the larger Olympic Theatre, Melbourne. In 1857 the prizes were: 60 money prizes valued at 60 pounds; 5 gold medals valued at 28 pounds 15 shillings; 17 silver medals valued at 35 pounds 14 shillings. The number of prizes actually increased in 1857 'with a view to inducing experiments in the growth and cultivation of new and untried crops likely to become valuable products of our soil'. -p.10, Transactions (of the Port Phillip Farmers' Society) June 1856 - July 1858. -D. Tout-Smith 30/12/2003.

The Port Phillip Farmers Society (now known as Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria) was formed in 1848 from a number of earlier farmers' societies in Victoria. It aimed to improve agricultural practices to meet the food needs of a growing population, and conducted ploughing matches in the area around Flemington. In 1855 it established showgrounds in Parkville, opposite the present site of The University of Melbourne. The Society established a model farm on 59 ha in nearby Royal Park. Later, in 1870, it invested its assets in a new organization, the National Agricultural Society of Victoria, which set up a new show site at Emerald Hill in South Melbourne. The current showgrounds in Ascot Vale were established in 1882, and have been the base for the Royal Melbourne Show ever since.

In May 1890, Queen Victoria assented to the use of the 'Royal' prefix by the Society in recognition of its ongoing contribution to the improvement of agriculture. The Society then became the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and the Show, the Royal Melbourne Show. -Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria web site http://www.rasv.com.au/; Essendon Network for Employment, Education and Training web site http://www.enet.org.au/historyonline/mccracken/peter.htm; Glyn Rimmington, University of Melbourne, web site http://rimmo.mur.csu.edu.au/rimmo/hyperbook/5/5.4.html -D. Tout-Smith 2/10/2003.

A David Patullo, born 1816, migrated to Australia from Perthshire, Scotland, in 1841 with his wife Agnes. Other brothers soon followed, all becoming farmers in the Carigieburn area, Wollert and Bulla. -Pers. comm., Beryl Patullo, [email protected]; www.brandis.com.au/surnames/p.html. -D. Tout-Smith 30/12/2003.

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