SYDNEY'S ROYAL EASTER SHOW - 1
One of the biggest events of the year for New South Wales is the Royal Easter Show where town and country get together so that the townspeople can see just how much they rely on the farmers and graziers. This show used to be held in the Showgrounds in the inner city suburb of Moore Park but when a new sports complex was being built for the Year 2000 Olympic Games, it was decided by the Showground Trust that a purpose built area was badly needed since the buildings and the whole area of the original site needed a great deal of money spent on them to bring them up-to-date.
Naturally a lot of people were against the idea of moving the Show from its traditional surroundings but the decision was made to go ahead with the work especially when a lot of influential people, who lived in an exclusive area next to the old showgrounds, threw their weight behind the move so that they would no longer be bothered by the loud noises (and smells) !
Where the Show is based now is alongside the Olympic sporting facilities and a good way from any residential areas and since the last time I went to the Show was possibly 15-20 years or so ago, way back when my daughters were still at school, this year I decided to go along and see what sort of a job they had made of the new complex.
The first change I noticed was that the tickets for combined transport and entry can now be bought online while for those who don't have a computer they can be bought at the railway stations or when boarding special buses leaving from local areas and travelling exclusively to the showground. The buses ran from 7/7.30 am right through until the last bus left for home at 11 pm with the journey from my area taking around an hour in the morning through rush hour traffic and 40 minutes for the homeward journey at 9 pm.
We were dropped off right outside the entry gates and from there we found ourselves in a different world of animals, country activities, amusements and fairgrounds, with lots of bazaars, displays, foods, etc., to satisfy even the most bored and hard to please child (and adult).
As I went through the gates I purchased a showground guidebook and made my way to the animal pavilions where the judging of the pigs and mohair goats had just finished. I had intended to go and look at the Cattle and Horse Pavilions, too, and also one where City children could go and milk the cows but I am afraid I am not as energetic as I used to be !
This goat was being fed by a small boy who totally ignored the many signs posted around the pavilion saying PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. The goat certainly wasn't going to tell on him.
The pigs had the right idea - they ignored the crowd completely and caught up on some well earned sleep except for some of the many hungry piglets.
When I looked at this photo on the computer at home, this sow had a very nasty red look in her eye - I'm still trying to decide whether it was caused by the camera or by her attitude to some of the public who were crowding around her trying to get a good look at her offspring !
This piglet was dead to the world and couldn't have cared less if the whole world had come to look at her - she had a full tummy and that was all she was bothered about !
This Pig Stud had had a very successful day at the Show.
Naturally being a spinner and weaver I had to go and check out the sheep and fleeces in their Pavilion....
...and after this I moved on to the spectacular produce displays which are one of the favourites of showgoers every year.
All of these displays are created from fruit and vegetables, both fresh and bottled, fleeces, wood - in fact anything that can be found on a country property.
If you look closely, you can see that the lawns are created from green apples with 'flower beds' of vegetables such as pumpkins, marrows, etc. while in the photo below, the wings of the butterfly were gently fluttering up and down in the corner of the display.
Many years ago I think only the country areas of New South Wales had these big displays but this year I noticed that one of them had been created by the South Eastern District of Queensland while some districts of New South Wales were not represented - no doubt because of the drought.....
....which was emphasized in this display where the running 'water' was created by using fleeces.
The red border of the central part of this display was made from thousands of shiny red apples.
All the fruit and vegetables from these displays are sold to the public at the end of the Show with the proceeds going to charity.
Next door to the produce hall was the Arts Pavilion where the entries for the Lace making, spinning and weaving, knitting, leather work, patchwork, embroidery, cake decorating, cooking and numerous other competitions were placed on display together with the painting, photography entries. So many different crafts and classes that is hard to remember just what was there !
Then from the Arts Pavilion the next stop was at the Sample Bag Hall - every child's delight.
Originally, sample bags were given away free so that the public could taste new delights and perhaps find some old favourites but then a small charge of 25 cents per bag was introduced until this year I was amazed to see some of them on sale for well over $20. Admittedly, the contents are now more than just small samples of sweets, drinks, etc., with some of the bags themselves being of made of strong canvas instead of the original paper but if you have two or three children to buy for then a day at the Show is far from cheap ! My daughters were allowed three or four bags each and I would also buy a couple of sample bags from the bakers stands which contained bread, small pats of butter, jams, cheese, drinks etc., and with these for lunch we would go and settle down in the stands surrounding the big arena where all sorts of events were taking place......and believe me, sitting down and relaxing after parading around the Show all morning was bliss.
One of the biggest events of the year for New South Wales is the Royal Easter Show where town and country get together so that the townspeople can see just how much they rely on the farmers and graziers. This show used to be held in the Showgrounds in the inner city suburb of Moore Park but when a new sports complex was being built for the Year 2000 Olympic Games, it was decided by the Showground Trust that a purpose built area was badly needed since the buildings and the whole area of the original site needed a great deal of money spent on them to bring them up-to-date.
Naturally a lot of people were against the idea of moving the Show from its traditional surroundings but the decision was made to go ahead with the work especially when a lot of influential people, who lived in an exclusive area next to the old showgrounds, threw their weight behind the move so that they would no longer be bothered by the loud noises (and smells) !
Where the Show is based now is alongside the Olympic sporting facilities and a good way from any residential areas and since the last time I went to the Show was possibly 15-20 years or so ago, way back when my daughters were still at school, this year I decided to go along and see what sort of a job they had made of the new complex.
The first change I noticed was that the tickets for combined transport and entry can now be bought online while for those who don't have a computer they can be bought at the railway stations or when boarding special buses leaving from local areas and travelling exclusively to the showground. The buses ran from 7/7.30 am right through until the last bus left for home at 11 pm with the journey from my area taking around an hour in the morning through rush hour traffic and 40 minutes for the homeward journey at 9 pm.
We were dropped off right outside the entry gates and from there we found ourselves in a different world of animals, country activities, amusements and fairgrounds, with lots of bazaars, displays, foods, etc., to satisfy even the most bored and hard to please child (and adult).
As I went through the gates I purchased a showground guidebook and made my way to the animal pavilions where the judging of the pigs and mohair goats had just finished. I had intended to go and look at the Cattle and Horse Pavilions, too, and also one where City children could go and milk the cows but I am afraid I am not as energetic as I used to be !
This goat was being fed by a small boy who totally ignored the many signs posted around the pavilion saying PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. The goat certainly wasn't going to tell on him.
The pigs had the right idea - they ignored the crowd completely and caught up on some well earned sleep except for some of the many hungry piglets.
When I looked at this photo on the computer at home, this sow had a very nasty red look in her eye - I'm still trying to decide whether it was caused by the camera or by her attitude to some of the public who were crowding around her trying to get a good look at her offspring !
This piglet was dead to the world and couldn't have cared less if the whole world had come to look at her - she had a full tummy and that was all she was bothered about !
This Pig Stud had had a very successful day at the Show.
Naturally being a spinner and weaver I had to go and check out the sheep and fleeces in their Pavilion....
...and after this I moved on to the spectacular produce displays which are one of the favourites of showgoers every year.
All of these displays are created from fruit and vegetables, both fresh and bottled, fleeces, wood - in fact anything that can be found on a country property.
If you look closely, you can see that the lawns are created from green apples with 'flower beds' of vegetables such as pumpkins, marrows, etc. while in the photo below, the wings of the butterfly were gently fluttering up and down in the corner of the display.
Many years ago I think only the country areas of New South Wales had these big displays but this year I noticed that one of them had been created by the South Eastern District of Queensland while some districts of New South Wales were not represented - no doubt because of the drought.....
....which was emphasized in this display where the running 'water' was created by using fleeces.
The red border of the central part of this display was made from thousands of shiny red apples.
All the fruit and vegetables from these displays are sold to the public at the end of the Show with the proceeds going to charity.
Next door to the produce hall was the Arts Pavilion where the entries for the Lace making, spinning and weaving, knitting, leather work, patchwork, embroidery, cake decorating, cooking and numerous other competitions were placed on display together with the painting, photography entries. So many different crafts and classes that is hard to remember just what was there !
Then from the Arts Pavilion the next stop was at the Sample Bag Hall - every child's delight.
Originally, sample bags were given away free so that the public could taste new delights and perhaps find some old favourites but then a small charge of 25 cents per bag was introduced until this year I was amazed to see some of them on sale for well over $20. Admittedly, the contents are now more than just small samples of sweets, drinks, etc., with some of the bags themselves being of made of strong canvas instead of the original paper but if you have two or three children to buy for then a day at the Show is far from cheap ! My daughters were allowed three or four bags each and I would also buy a couple of sample bags from the bakers stands which contained bread, small pats of butter, jams, cheese, drinks etc., and with these for lunch we would go and settle down in the stands surrounding the big arena where all sorts of events were taking place......and believe me, sitting down and relaxing after parading around the Show all morning was bliss.
posted by Needlelacer | 1:39 AM
2 Comments:
NICE entry H, the organic pics reminded me of the well dressings we have here. I wonder how long they last in the heat of Oz? Our dressings last about a week. Thanks for taking the time to put these up.
Les
They were in an air conditioned hall, Les, but at this time of the year we don't get the heat that we can have during summer. It was a very pleasant 25 degrees or so on the day I went to the Show.
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