Newdegate Machinery Field Days committee member Lynne Ellard takes pride of place at Newdegate

Lynne Ellard has been a loyal volunteer with the Newdegate Machinery Field Days for about 40 years, dedicating her time and energy to one of the town’s most iconic events.

Her involvement has made her a familiar and much-respected face within the community.

She first attended the event in 1972 as a young mother with her six-month-old daughter, Lisa, when the Field Days were still focused mainly on machinery demonstrations.

Over the years, she’s seen the event grow into a major attraction for families from all over the region.

Lynne grew up in Newdegate, living on a farm just a few kilometres from town on North Newdegate Road, where her family ran sheep and grew grain crops.

“After finishing boarding school in Perth, I came back to Newdegate, and I’ve been here ever since, enjoying the warmth of spring and autumn before the town comes alive with field days in September,” Lynne said.

Lynne was just 21 when she returned home, and has loved living in the town ever since.

Now 73 years old and a mother of four daughters, Lisa, Angela, Natasha, and Deanne, she continues her involvement as head of the Family Entertainment Pavilion, a role she has held for nine years.

“I like how the community comes together when our field days are on, it’s pretty awesome for such a small town,” she said.

“It takes very dedicated people to put them on — I love Newdegate, it’s where my grandfather, Francis Henry Lloyd, took up farming after he moved here from York.”

Her connection to the town runs deep.

Her grandfather, a pioneer farmer in Newdegate, also served as the Roads Board chairman and played a strong role in shaping the local community.

“He always was involved in the community and had experience with agricultural shows when he displayed his prized garden vegetables when he was in York,” she said.

“I inherited my community and gardening interest from my grandfather, my passion is striving to make Newdegate a better place to live.

“I also love gardening and particularly native Australian horticultural plants — the best of both worlds.”

Lynne has attended every field day since its inception and has played a key role in shaping the Family Interest and Display Pavilion into a core part of the event.

She ensures a wide variety of vendors each year, making it a hub for shopping and entertainment.

“My work involves getting in touch with new vendor prospects and allocating spaces for them,” she said.

“The best thing about the field days for me is meeting all the people, it’s always a friendly gathering.”

The pavilion remains popular with stallholders, too.

“About 80 per cent of the vendors return each year,” she said.

“This year has been really good with vendor bookings — machinery is full, the oval has quite a few exhibitors — the family entertainment pavilion only has two sites left to fill, out of 90.”

Outside her field day duties, Lynne works part-time doing book work at Newdegate Stock and Trading, a local supplier of farm goods and fuel.

After decades of service, she’s hoping to pass on the baton as the organiser of the Family Interest and Display Pavilion.

“I would like someone younger with fresh ideas,” she said.

This year’s Newdegate Machinery Field Days will be held on September 3 and 4.