On with the show in ’09
2019 Royal Geelong Show kicks off on Thursday at the Geelong Showgrounds, prompting us to reflect on the long history of the show and bringing to mind some personal memories of shows past.
By means of a comparison, we have chosen to include some images and text from the Geelong Advertiser’s coverage of the 1909 Geelong Show to compare the show experience from 110 years ago with that of today.
One of the obvious differences was that the 1909 show was held over two days, on Wednesday, September 8, and Thursday, September 9, whereas this year’s show runs for four days from Thursday to Sunday.
The photos shown today all appeared in the Addy’s weekly magazine, News of the Week, on September 16, 1909.
The reporter was full of praise for the photos, commenting that several wellknown locals could be seen in the crowd.
The agricultural and pastoral society, which stages the show each year, was originally formed in 1855 and the first Geelong Show took place later that same year with the emphasis well and truly on farming. The first show was held on a temporary site at the Immigration Depot near the north east corner of Ryrie and Swanston streets. A permanent showground was secured in 1857 in an area to the south of Ryrie St to the east of Garden St.
The grandstand featured today had famously been moved in April 1907 using rollers and a steam-powered traction engine. The grandstand was moved from the showground’s second home, which had been established in 1891 on the north side of the Queenscliff railway line, to its third home at the Geelong Racecourse.
The show society and the racing club shared the site of the present racecourse until 1954, when the show’s current site was used for the first time.
This columnist worked at the Geelong Show in the early 1980s when the Geelong Advertiser had a caravan permanently stationed at the show. Each year three Addy journalists did their share of typing out show results on ancient typewriters in between taking in the sights and writing one or two colour stories.
By that time the activities included sideshows and rides, but for many the main interest was still in the animals.
This year’s show will feature some of the more traditional competitions, such as the horses, sheep and cattle, while the dog competitions will be held on Friday and Saturday. The sheep will be gone by Sunday, replaced by the alpacas.
The racing pigs will be there again this year, as will the monster trucks. Contact: peterjohnbegg@gmail.com