History

The Club's first function was held during Ekka show week at the Pelican Restaurant, Fortitude Valley, where 23 guests paid $3 a head to hear veterinarian Dr Lloyd Donaldson of the Australian Breeders' Service challenge State Government restrictions on artificial insemination centres. In September, more than 40 gathered at the Zebra Motel to hear Federal Primary Industries Minister Ian Sinclair, alongside Malcolm Fraser and former Australian Wool Board chairman Sir William Gunn. Membership was open to journalists, broadcasters, artists and photographers writing for a rural audience, and to PR practitioners serving rural industries, for a $2 joining fee.  The Club's first annual report recorded eight luncheons and membership growth from 15 to 49.

Foundation member Phillip Bate, President from 1981 to 1984, represented Australia at Asian Council of Agricultural Journalists conferences in the Philippines (1980), Pakistan (1982) and New Zealand (1986). In 1981, founding committee member Bill Kerr — who served over the years as Treasurer, Secretary and President — was made a Life Member.

After a period of dormancy, the Club was revived by a small core group, including future President Jane Milburn, who set about re-establishing it as a respected forum for rural media and agribusiness. Through the decade, the appointment of the Club’s first Executive Officer, Alan Ernst, helped strengthen the monthly luncheon program and broaden membership beyond rural media to include agribusiness, government, finance and public relations professionals. By 2009, the Club was also extending its reach beyond Brisbane, introducing the AgShow Breakfast at the Toowoomba Showgrounds alongside its annual Ekka Breakfast program.

The 2010s saw the Club strengthen its role in recognising the contribution of rural journalism to Queensland agriculture and regional life. The Rural Journalism Hall of Fame was established in 2010, with the late Malcolm McCosker as its inaugural inductee, followed by Robin McConchie and Rod Green. In 2014, the Hall of Fame exhibit, built around the Club’s iconic windmill, was permanently installed at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach. The decade also brought major events and milestones, including the 2015 ‘Boot the Drought’ ball at Parliament House, which raised $40,000 for rural charities, and the induction of ABC Landline identities including Kerry Lonergan and Pip Courtney.

The 2020s began with disruption, as the pandemic paused face-to-face events and the Club moved its program online through webinars to keep the rural conversation going. As events returned, the Club’s reach continued to grow: Beef Central publisher Jon Condon was inducted into the Hall of Fame before a 650-strong audience in 2022, and in 2023 the Club marked its 50th year with a long lunch for around 400 guests at Brisbane City Hall, headlined by Pip Courtney and author Trent Dalton. The Hall of Fame continued to expand with Peter Lewis becoming its seventh inductee in 2024, before the Club returned to Longreach in 2025 to add Jon Condon and Peter Lewis to the exhibit and mark the installation of the bronze Zanda McDonald Award trophy in Poets Corner.

Today, the Club is entering a new era with a refreshed brand, website and membership platform designed to support its growing community. The redesigned logo carries the Club’s heritage forward in a contemporary way: the familiar windmill is reimagined with blades formed by pen nibs coming together, honouring the journalists who founded the Club while reflecting the conversations that continue to connect rural media, agribusiness, industry and government — where the bush talks business.