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‘A Permanent and Prominent Feature of the Show’: The Origins and Meanings of a District Exhibits Competition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2013

Joanne Scott
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Extract

Variously described as ‘the outstanding feature of the show’, the ‘finest . . . in Australia’ and ‘a breath-taking experience’, the district exhibits competition is a central and much-loved feature of the annual Brisbane Exhibition, Queensland's premier agricultural show. Although the contest has attracted enthusiastic crowds and substantial media attention across more than a century, scholarly analysis has been limited. Yet, as other studies have demonstrated, exploring key aspects of the histories of agricultural shows not only provides insights into some of post-contact Australia's oldest and most popular events, but also enriches our understanding of the ideas that have sustained and shaped our communities. This article contributes to that historiography through an analysis of the origins and subsequent meanings of the Brisbane district exhibits competition.

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Articles
Information
Queensland Review , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , December 2013 , pp. 174 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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References

Endnotes

1 Queenslander, 15 August 1895, 327; 14 August 1909, 33; Queensland Country Life, 11 August 1949, 1.

2 See, for example, Anderson, Kay, ‘White natures: Sydney's Royal Agricultural Show in post-humanist perspective’, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 28 (2003), 422–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Broome, Richard with Jackomos, Alick, Sideshow alley (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1998)Google Scholar; Darian-Smith, Kate and Wills, Sara, ‘From queen of agriculture to miss showgirl: embodying rurality in twentieth-century Australia’, Journal of Australian Studies 25/71 (2001), 17–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Scott, Joanne and Laurie, Ross, Showtime: a history of the Brisbane Exhibition (St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 2008)Google Scholar.

3 Week, 21 August 1891, 16.

4 Black, Alan W., ‘The genesis of Australian agricultural colleges in the nineteenth century’, Australian Journal of Politics and History 2 (1) (1975), 53–5Google Scholar.

5 In 1921, the NAIAQ became the Royal NAIAQ and in recent decades has used the short title Royal National Association (RNA); NAIAQ is used throughout this article, with the exception of references.

6 By 1889, with thirty-five agricultural and horticultural societies including the NAIAQ, almost every region in the colony had its own society. P. R. Schlenker, ‘The National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland 1875–1900’, unpublished BA Hons thesis, University of Queensland (1973), pp. 16, 135.

7 NAIAQ, Journal, 29 November 1890, 169, John Oxley Library (JOL) OMAB/20/5.

8 NAIAQ, Journal, 29 June 1891, 83, JOL OMAB/20/6.

9 NAIAQ, Journal, 29 July 1891, 98–99, JOL OMAB/20/6. The sweepstake competitions were an exception to this pattern, with the Hunter's Plate, for example, offering a prize of 40 sovereigns.

10 Queenslander, 22 August 1891, 376.

11 Reimbursement of transport costs for the district exhibits continues in the twenty-first century.

12 Brisbane Courier, 18 August 1891, 5.

13 This paragraph is based on the Queenslander, 22 August 1891, 375–6.

14 This paragraph is based on the Queenslander, 22 August 1891, 375–6.

15 Queenslander, 22 August 1891, 375–6; Week, 21 August 1891, 20.

16 Brisbane Courier, 19 August 1891, 6.

17 Queenslander, 22 August 1891, 375.

18 NAIAQ, Journal, 5 September 1891, 115, JOL OMAB/20/6.

19 Queenslander, 22 August 1891, 375.

20 NAIAQ, Journal, 28 September 1891, 145–46, JOL OMAB/20/6.

21 NAIAQ, Journal, 22 December 1891, 187, JOL OMAB/20/6.

22 NAIAQ, Journal, 29 June 1891, 83, JOL OMAB/20/6.

23 Queenslander, 15 August 1896, 327; originally housed in the new Exhibition Building, from 1939 the district exhibits were allocated space in the new Industrial Pavilion.

24 Council minutes, Secretary's report, 7 September 1939, RNA Archives.

25 The new format began in 1911. NAIAQ, Official catalogue, 1911, pp. 238–41, JOL OMAB/6/43.

26 Capricornian, 11 July 1891, 10. Maryborough, which did compete, later expressed similar concerns. See NAIAQ, Journal, 29 October 1891, 158, JOL OMAB/20/6.

27 Brisbane Courier, 10 August 1892, 5.

28 For example, finance committee, 20 November 1952, RNA Archives.

29 For details of the first Sydney Show district exhibits see Brian H. Fletcher, The grand parade: a history of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales (Sydney: Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales, 1988), p. 136.

30 Scott and Laurie, Showtime, p. 146.

31 Brisbane Courier, 23 May 1901, 7.

32 Queensland Agricultural Journal, 1 October 1902, 238.

33 Daily Mail, 26 July 1920, 6.

34 Council minutes, Annual report, year ended 31 December 1952, RNA Archives.

35 Interviews and conversations with competitors in 2007 emphasised the willingness of different societies to help each other if there were problems with their displays.

36 Queensland Agricultural Journal, 1 September 1900, 207.

37 Week, 11 August 1922, 12.

38 The phrase is from the Queenslander, 19 August 1916, 13.

39 Letter from Chief Council Steward of District Exhibition, J. P. Bottomley, to Chairman and Council of the RNA, 18 March 1927, RNA Archives.

40 Courier-Mail, 12 August 1940, 12.

41 RNA, Competition Schedule, Commonwealth District Exhibits, 2005, p. 5. The dimensions were reduced to 7.1 metres and 8 metres, when the displays were shifted to other premises during the showgrounds redevelopment. See Agricultural Hall Schedule, 2013, p. 8, http://www.royalqueenslandshow.com.au/media/43959/2013_district_exhibits_schedule.pdf (viewed 20 July 2013).

42 Queensland Country Life, 18 August 1938, 18; Courier-Mail, 11 August 1949, 9.

43 Queenslander, 14 August 1915, 34.

44 Queensland Agricultural Journal, 1 September 1937, 369.

45 Queensland Agricultural Journal, 1 September 1939, 320.

46 Council minutes, Secretary's report, 26 June 1947, RNA Archives.

47 RNA, Catalogue, 1950, pp. 12–14, RNA Archives. The Finney Isles Cup was donated with the provision that it would become the ‘absolute property of the District winning it four time in succession or five times in all’, a feat achieved in 1953 by the Moreton District.

48 Queensland Country Life, 9 August 1951, 6.

49 Minutes, Courier-Mail clipping, 18 August 1969, RNA Archives.

50 RNA, Ekka media kit, 2011, p. 43, http://www.ekka.com.au/media/392834/ekka-full-media-kit-v1.pdf (viewed 20 July 2013).