Try breeding and showing poultry for the perfect lifetime hobby, egg supply

Now 88, Mr Smith has spent more than 70 years breeding and showing "chooks", specifically the Sussex breed.

This pastime has taken him from a backyard in Mudgee operation during his childhood to the position of chairman of poultry at Sydney Royal for 15 years, not to mention judging poultry in almost every Australian state.

And the eggs are an added bonus for a lazy weekend breakfast or to make the perfect afternoon tea sponge cake.

The hobby also provided Mr Smith with the flexibility to forge a career in accounting and finance, and a role which saw him assist with the establishment of the Tamworth Country Music Festival and Ag Quip field days.

It was Mr Smith's first Sydney Royal win - first prize with a light Sussex cockerel [rooster] - in 1952 which sealed the deal and his love of poultry.

"That was the end for me, I was hooked," he said.

Mr Smith's many years of success at Sydney Royal were commemorated with the Peter Smith Perpetual trophy for Best Bird in Show which was introduced by his family during the 2006 Sydney Royal.

Closer to home, Mr Smith has exhibited at the annual Tamworth Poultry Club show from the first event in 1960, and the 2024 event will have special significance for him.

The 2024 show will be held on Sunday, July 7, at the Tamworth Paceway.

In recognition of his years of service to the Tamworth Poultry Club, the club made Mr Smith - known by many as "Mr Sussex" due to his support of the breed for more than 70 years - a patron of the event in 2023.

Mr Smith described the role as a "great honour".

Having shown at every Tamworth Poultry Club show since the competition was established in 1960, and spending decades in the roles of club secretary and treasurer, this was a fitting move.

"Breeding poultry has been a wonderful hobby as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Mr Smith's career outside the "chook" pen and show ring began in the world of banking.

At just 15, he accepted a job with the Rural Bank (which through sales eventually became the Commonwealth Bank) at Mudgee in 1950.

Mr Smith's starting wage was a paltry "3 pounds and 5 shillings" [or about $6.50].

In 1954, the bank transferred him to the West Tamworth branch, then located on the corner of Bridge and Belmore Streets, the site occupied today by a BP service station.

Less than a year into the job, Mr Smith was transferred to the Bega branch on the South Coast.

"By that time I'd met a good looking sort here (who went on to become his wife of 65 years Rhonda) and did not want to move," he said.

Mr Smith did move for a short period, but during a visit back to Tamworth heard through friends of a job going in the accounts department at Radio 2TM.

By now it was 1956, and the introduction of television to Australia was "just around the corner" (arriving in September 1956).

"Everyone I asked thought it could be a good career move for me," Mr Smith said.

"An introduction was organised with the company secretary and I got the job. I went back to Bega and resigned and returned to take on the accounting at 2TM."

The 2TM radio group, which had been established by Earnest Higginbotham and Tom Whitcombe in 1934 and was also known as the New England Radio Network, was invited to lodge an application for a television licence.

Mr Smith assisted with that, as well as the acquisition of land and the employment of architects to design a television studio.

The application was successful and Mr Smith was appointed company secretary of Broadcast Amalgamated Limited in 1966 - a position he held until retirement in 1995.

Mr Smith spent 40 years working behind the scenes in radio and television, and was part of the management team which went on to set up the country music festival and AgQuip.

"I signed the cheques for all that, and saw a lot happen," he said.

Through it all, Mr Smith's chooks were never far from his mind.

"Retirement gave me time to play with my chooks," he said.

Through all the business deals, Mr Smith always found time for his poultry, and he has fond memories of the many Tamworth Poultry Club shows.

The Sydney Royal poultry competition might be one of the largest in the country, with more than 3000 birds on display, but the Tamworth Poultry Club's annual show is nothing to be ashamed of with potentially up to 1000 birds entered annually.

In years past he would have shown up to 40 entries but this year will be content with a team of up to 23.

The 65^th Tamworth Poultry Club Show takes place on Sunday, July 7, at Tamworth Paceway. Doors open to the public from 9am.