The Royal Adelaide Show is grounded in history
For 100 years, Wayville Showground has been home to South Australia’s most-loved annual event.
In 1825, the organisers of the Royal Adelaide Show made two momentous decisions that transformed the event into the iconic experience South Australians still cherish 100 years later.
The first decision was to change it to an annual event. The second was to move it from North Terrace to Wayville Showground.
The move attracted international attention. The competition for best design for the new location drew 50 responses, with design applications from across Australia, as well as England and New Zealand. The winner was Mr C R Heath, who was awarded £500 ($1030) for his efforts. Eleven years later, on March 20, 1936, the site’s main pavilion, Centennial Hall, opened to the public.
Over the following century, the Showground has hosted some of the state’s most unforgettable moments, including The Beatles, Big Day Out, HM Queen Elizabeth II, Billy Graham and the SANFL. But, for most South Australians, it is first and foremost the home of the Royal Adelaide Show.
Flocking to the Show
Just ask Carolyn Johnson. The Carcuma North sheep and stud farm owner dates her family’s links with the Show back to the 1950s, when her grandfather Samuel Strout Allen won the Breeder’s Group Prize for his flock of Merino sheep. The following decade, her father Murray was awarded the prestigious prize of Grand Champion Ewe.
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Her own memories start from a young age. “I have three sisters and as soon as we were big enough and strong enough, we helped to hold the sheep for my father in the show ring,” she says.
“Because we were at the show for a number of days, my mum would always set my sisters and myself the challenge to go around the Show and find as many free things as we could to keep ourselves amused. Over the years we went from taking a significant time to seeing how fast we could do it.
“Towards the end, as we were getting much older, we managed to complete it within 15 minutes.
Today, Carolyn, together with husband Grant and daughter Elsie, continues her family’s rich legacy. “Under our Poll Merino stud that we established when Elsie was a baby, Grant and I have exhibited wool for a number of years at the Show,” she says.
“We won the Elders Prize seven times for Most Successful Open Premature Shorn Exhibitor in the wool section. We were also fortunate enough to win the Jack Hewitt Memorial Trophy for the Most Successful Merino Wool Exhibitor in 2021 and 2024. There can be 40 exhibits in a class, so it’s very stiff competition.”
Carolyn is also carrying on her mum’s recipe for winning when it comes to show baking. “Mum was a trained home economics teacher. She stopped teaching when she had children but she taught all of us to cook for country shows.
“Over the years I have been fortunate enough to win most successful fruit cake exhibitor, most successful large cake exhibitor and most successful small cake exhibitor.”
Elsie is proudly following in her family’s footsteps. Last year, she was named the 2024 Young Royal Ambassador in South Australia.
“Elsie is very proud of her history and legacy and also about opportunities in the future,” Carolyn says. “She’s won junior cookery exhibitor, most successful junior preserve exhibitor, best junior cookery exhibit and the state meat breed judges’ competition. But she still has a list of things she would like to achieve.
“My parents are no longer with us, but many people Elsie interacts with have positive, lovely stories about them they share with her, so she gets to still experience them in her life.”
Heart of the Show
The Royal Adelaide Show has been an ever-present part of Thamsin Dunn’s life, too. “I grew up in a country family, so shows were always part of our lives,” she says. “My grandmother was the secretary of the Strathalbyn Show, and we used to compete at all the country shows.
“The Royal Show was where it came together. As kids, we used to take part in the horse riding events. Dad was one of the main arena stewards and my granny used to help in the CWA hall. So the show has always been a regular week in our family’s life.
“As I got older, my mum, my sister and I would go every year, but the focus would be more on the Taste SA stand and the big market halls and the CWA tent rather than the fairground side of things.”
With two children, Florence, 9, and Jasper, 6, these days the fairground is once again a large part of Thamsin and husband Olly’s Show experience – but it’s about more than the rides.
“We tend to always go on the day when the World Cup show jumping is, which is normally Wednesday or Thursday,” she says. “It’s a really good opportunity to see some of the best show jumpers in Australia competing together.
“I don’t think you can get away from a trip to the show without a couple of Showbags as well. And the Showbag planning starts weeks before, working out what they’re going to get. They take it very seriously.”
As a seasoned Showgoer, Thamsin has seen a lot of change over the years – but, she says, “the essence is exactly the same as it was when I was a kid”.
“It’s that beautiful country-meets-city environment. The lights are a lot flashier and there’s more people around, but the heart of the show has stayed the same – it’s that one community event that anyone from anywhere can come to and find something they enjoy.”
Back with a bang
In honour of 100 years at the Adelaide Showground, this year’s Show will also unveil the Southern Lights Spectacular, presented by Drakes. The Australian-first 30-minute nightly show will feature drones, pyrotechnics, lasers and special effects, telling South Australian stories in a breathtaking, narrative-driven performance.
Nightly entertainment will begin at 6:40pm from Sunday to Thursday, and 7:40pm on Friday and Saturday, with the Southern Lights Spectacular closing each day of the Show.
This year’s Royal Adelaide Show runs from August 30 to September 7. Tickets are available at theshow.com.au and Drakes Supermarkets statewide.
