GOVERNOR-GENERAL Sir Peter Cosgrove said opening the Warwick Show had brought some exciting firsts for him.

Sir Peter and Lady Cosgrove opened the 150th Show on Friday night to a huge applause from the crowd and later hundreds of wellwishers wanting to meet the couple as they walked around the grounds.

Sir Peter said the Warwick Show opening had been "hugely important” on his annual schedule.

"Friday night was a real celebration,” Sir Peter said.

He said rural communities like the Southern Down endure hardship but the Warwick Show was "a night of joy and a lot of fun for everyone”.

Sir Peter said the event had provided him with a few exciting firsts.

"It was the first time I have started the fireworks at a show,” Sir Peter said.

"I pushed down on the dynamite plunger and said to the crowd 'it has been nice to meet you, now I am going to blow you up'” he joked.

"It's also the first time I have seen the national anthem being performed by a woman standing on two horses.

"And she performed the anthem extremely well.”

Sire Peter told the crowd it was an auspicious year to visit the event in its 150th year.

"We love coming to shows because it is a great gathering point, a moment of joy and energy and optimism for rural communities and we never fail to walk away walking on air,” Sir Peter said in his speech.

Rural communities like the Southern Downs were the beating heart of Australia, he said.

"After official duties, I'm really looking forward to seeing the stud sheep, the spinning and meeting the special needs students knowing that this show would bring them so much joy and also meeting and the volunteers who without this 150th show would not be on.”

He unveiled a plaque to commemorate the 150th Warwick Show and said he had been to seven regional shows in his three years as Governor General.

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove made Warwick Wolves Academy their first stop on Saturday.

Boys and girls, six to 15, are part of the academy and Sir Peter said the session was a chance to meet a wide gamut of the young local community.

He mingled with players and staff at the grounds and chatted with the boys and girls telling them, " Your parents are wanting you to be here (at the Wolves) to see you be the best you can be”.

The Governor-General left for the Granite Belt after meeting the Wolves where he opened the Australian Vinegar Innovation Centre in Stanthorpe, reopened the Stanthorpe Civic Centre and attended the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery.

He also visited the Inglewood Multipurpose Health Service at the Inglewood Hospital on Saturday.