crowds

The Main Arena at the Brisbane Showgrounds (formerly known as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground) is operated by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA). The Royal Queensland Show or 'Ekka' as Queenslanders refer to it, is staged by the Showgrounds in August each year and attracts more than 600,000 visitors. Located adjacent to the Brisbane CBD at Bowen Hills, the Showgrounds are bound by Bowen Bridge Road, O'Connell Terrace, St Paul's Terrace, and Gregory. The main arena is surrounded by several stands with a total seating capacity of 20,526. Standing room for an additional 4,964 people brings the ground's capacity to 25,490. The oldest stand on the ground is The John McDonald Stand (1906), which seats 2,225 people. The Ernest Baynes Stand, when opened in 1922, seated almost 4,000 people. The top section of the double-deck stand closed in 1985 following a safety inspection. When renovated in 1993, an 'old-fashioned' roof replaced the closed-off section. Today, it seats 1,750 people. The Members Stand, situated between the McDonald and Baynes stands, was opened in 1972 and seats 778. The concrete terrace that stretches around the northern end of the ground is called Machinery Hill and seats almost 11,000 people. Twenty-eight first-class cricket matches were been played at the Exhibition Ground between 1893 and 1931, including two Tests and thirteen Sheffield Shield matches. The Exhibition Ground became the main venue for cricket in Brisbane in 1923/24 and was the venue for the match played between the touring MCC team and an Australian XI in 1924/25. The Test against England in 1928/29 was the first Test played in Brisbane and featured the debut of D.G. Bradman, who scored 18 and 1. The ground measured 142 x 155m fence-to-fence. The third Test of the series against the West Indies in 1930/31 was the last first-class game played at the ground. Source: www.austadiums.com/stadiums/brisbane-showgrounds

As in other cities around Australia, the residents of Brisbane welcomed the new year, the new century, and the new nation on Commonwealth Day, 1 January 1901. The festivities planned for Brisbane were both formal and fun. Churches held services where official prayers were said for the new Commonwealth and for Queen Victoria. Governor Lamington had responsibility for reading the proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia and the message from Queen Victoria to the Australian people. The people of Brisbane were joined by those from surrounding districts and further afield, who had made the trip by train to see the processions and parades. Women and men were dressed in their finest clothes, and important businesses and public buildings of Brisbane were equally well decorated for the occasion. Source: getting-it-together.moadoph.gov.au/queensland/celebration...

Highlights of Moments in Queensland Racing History! Mid 1880's Track established "by the creek" - Albion Park - with a sand surface. It was purchased by Melbourne businessman, John Wren in 1910, and unregistered race meetings were conducted. In 1924 the Brisbane Amateur Turf Club was formed and purchased Albion Park from Mr. Wren for 300,000 pounds ($600,000). Source: www.teamthoroughbreds.com.au/articles/highlights-of-momen...

Remembering The Creek, Brisbane’s quirky sand racetrack The Creek, Brisbane’s now-defunct Albion Park racecourse, holds special memories for many horse-racing enthusiasts of a certain age. Known as “The Creek” because it was bounded by Breakfast Creek which runs into the nearby Brisbane River, it was an all-weather sand track that provided an alternative to the more upmarket grass tracks of Eagle Farm and Doomben. In hindsight, it could be argued that it wasn’t a smart decision to locate a racetrack in such a flood-prone position. Many times since the track was established about 1854, officials had to clean up after such an event. In a measure of the benefits of a sand track, racing re-started two weeks after the 1974 flood receded. It took workers several days to remove the silt and debris. Gallopers such as Recovery, St Aubin, Auction, Lucky Ring, and Red Seas mostly won at Albion Park and were referred to as champion “Creekers”. The Creek was never going to survive long-term as horse racing expanded. It was the stuff of another era, filled with characters and situations that will be hard for some to comprehend. As well, harness racing events were included on the program on occasions and those who had standardbred horses back then could not have imagined that one day the location would become a world-class venue for that racing code. The site is now headquarters to both harness racing and greyhounds and is still known as The Creek, but many would know little of the history behind that title. Just a short walk from The Creek is the iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel which has long held a reputation as one of Brisbane’s best steakhouses and gathering places. Source: nunn.com.au/the-creek/

Interesting to see almost all spectators are male, and almost all, except just a few, wearing hats.