Australian of the Year 2012 and Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush will be at the Royal Queensland Show on Thursday
The Australian of the Year 2012 together with the Young Australian of the Year 2012 Marita Cheng will celebrate all that is great about Queensland on the opening day of the Royal Queensland Show this Thursday (August 9).
Set to share a beer and a yarn with cattlemen and women at the iconic Cattlemen’s Bar, meet some of the nation’s cutest creatures, plus try their hands at shearing sheep, they will also enjoy the spectacle of almost 2,000 beef cattle on display at the Royal Queensland Beef Competition.
Mr Rush and Ms Cheng will also share tea and scones with the ladies from the Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA), which this year is celebrating its 90th anniversary.
The biggest showing of stud beef in the southern hemisphere, the Beef Competition is one of the Ekka’s largest competitions and features 448 classes in the prestigious Stud Beef Competition, 27 in the Led Steer Competition and 12 in the Prime Beef Competition.
RNA President David Thomas and RNA Chief Executive Brendan Christou will welcome Mr Rush and Ms Cheng to the Ekka, which is held just 1.6 kilometres from the Brisbane CBD.
“It will be an honour to host Mr Rush and Ms Cheng at the Ekka, we’re delighted they have chosen to visit us on opening day and we thank the Australian of the Year Awards for arranging this great honour,’’ Mr Christou said.
“Together with all Australians, we greatly respect the achievements of Mr Rush and Ms Cheung and are thrilled they will be here on grounds to experience a quintessential Queensland event,” he said.
The visits are part of a Tour of Honour which brings recipients of the nation’s most respected honour into contact with school students and the community to share their inspiring stories.
The Tour of Honour comes as nominations are being accepted to find the next Australian of the Year Award recipients. Nominations can be submitted at
www.australianoftheyear.org.au
Academy Award-winning actor and producer Mr Rush was named the Australian of the Year for 2012 for his contribution to the arts.
Born in Toowoomba, he spent his early childhood there before his family moved to Brisbane where he attended primary school, high school and the University of Queensland.
Ms Cheng is originally from Cairns, and is now studying at Melbourne University.
The Ekka runs from August 9-18 at the RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane. Visit
www.ekka.com.au