spectators

History of the Queensland Police In 1907 The Patrol was the first motorized vessel used by the Brisbane Water Police. She was capable of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).[1] Constable Charles Watson and a tracker followed suspected murderer J. W. Patterson for 350 miles (560 km). They captured the fugitive but had very little food or water for the last 100 miles (160 km) of the chase.[1] A new Figure-of-8 style handcuff was introduced.[1] In 1907, Police Commissioner William Cahill and the Deputy Queensland Government Architect designed the Queensland Police Station badge based on the police cap badge of the time. Prior to this time, there was no standard way to indicate a police station. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Queensland_Police#1930s

In 1946, the Premier of Queensland, Ned Hanlon, offered the post of Governor of Queensland to Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead, who declined. Hanlon then offered the post to Lavarack, who accepted and was sworn in on 1 October—the second Australian-born person to hold a governorship in Australia (Sir John Northcott had been made Governor of New South Wales two months previously).[6] After completing his five-year term in 1951, Lavarack's governorship was extended by another five years to 1956. In February 1952, he proclaimed Queen Elizabeth II as the monarch in Queensland, following the death of her father King George VI. Lavarack's oath of allegiance and oath of office was then re-administered (at his request) to reflect the new monarch.[7] He was then reappointed for a further year from 1 October 1956, but due to ill health, Lavarack only served four months of the extended term and was relieved of his duties on 25 January 1957 by his lieutenant governor, although he officially remained governor until September 1957. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lavarack

The Queensland itinerary featured Brisbane from 9-10 and 16-18 March, and the regional cities Bundaberg and Toowoomba on 11 March, Townsville on 12 March, Cairns on 13 March, and Mackay and Rockhampton on 15 March. The Queen traveled 2600 km by plane, and the Townsville–Cairns–Mackay legs on the Royal yacht. Despite the distance, the Queen’s trip never took her inland from the Queensland coast further than Toowoomba, but many Queenslanders traveled inland to see their Queen. Rockhampton marked the end of the tour of regional Queensland and the couple returned to Brisbane for a free day and then another day of engagements before departing for Broken Hill and Adelaide on 18 March. The scene of the couple leaving Queensland was described after the event with great emotion, ‘Elizabeth and Philip drove out along the crowded way from Government House to the airport, and as the singing of “God Save the Queen” came to its full-throated climax, there were many tears in their eyes.’ Perhaps over-protected from the heat and conditions of inland Queensland in 1954, the Queen's itinerary for later tours included Mount Isa and Longreach. Source: www.qhatlas.com.au/content/queen-queensland-1954

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