1876 THE FIRST EXHIBITION
2011 GRAMMY AWARD WINNERS WOLFMOTHER CLOSE EKKA’S CONCERT SERIES 2012 AUSTRALIAN FIRST Ekka fans were able to customise their own fireworks on the show’s free interactive fireworks iPhone app 2012 AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR AND ACADEMY AWARD- WINNING ACTOR AND PRODUCER GEOFFREY RUSH
The Intercolonial Exhibition of 1876 was held at Bowen Park with an estimated 15,000-17,000 people attending out of Brisbane’s population at the time of just 20,600
1877 FIRST EKKA RIDE
The first ride was a merry-go-round in Sideshow Alley* 1879 INTRODUCTION OF QUEENSLAND’S NEWEST TECHNOLOGIES Ekka patrons were amazed by telephones, microphones, electric lights and even an electric thief detector 1889 SHEEPDOG TRIALS HELD FOR THE FIRST TIME 1891 DISTRICT EXHIBITS The first district exhibits contest was held – nine regions competed for a prize pool of £175* 1894 FIRST FIREWORKS DISPLAY 1N THE MAIN ARENA 1909 JUBILEE SHOW The 12 day show was the largest agricultural show in Australia that year with more than 7,000 competition entries* 1919 FIRST EKKA CANCELLED DUE TO INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC 1920 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES VISITS THE EKKA 1926 QUEENSLAND COUNTRY WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION MAKES ITS FIRST APPEARANCE 1942 SECOND EKKA CANCELLED DUE TO WORLD WAR 11 1950’S EKKA FOOD TRADITIONS The now symbolic Ekka fairy floss, butter board sandwiches, strawberry sundaes and dagwood dogs were introduced* 1954 QUEEN ELIZABETH 11 AND PRINCE PHILLIP VISIT THE EKKA 1959 HRH PRINCESS ALEXANDRIA OF KENT VISITS 1964 ANIMAL NURSERY AT THE EKKA FIRST INTRODUCED 1969 FIRST SKYMASTER FERRIS WHEEL AT EKKA 1988 EXPO 88 Ekka achieved its highest attendance with an estimated 800,000 people flooding through the gates* 2000 SIDESHOW ALLEY AND WOODCHOP Inner city bypass constructed, Sideshow Alley and the Woodchop Arena redeveloped 2010 ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL EKKA’S IN HISTORY HELD The 2010 Ekka saw a 20 per cent increase in crowd numbers
ATTENDED THE OPENING DAY OF THE EKKA 2013 EKKA WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
The Royal Queensland Show took home the prestigious Best in Show title, along with 13 other awards, at the 2013 International Association of Fairs & Expositions (IAFE) Awards
2014 MILLION DOLLAR NIGHT SHOW
Australian-first million dollar night show EkkaNITES wowed the crowds each night of show The Ekka ran over two full weekends for the first time in the show’s history
2015 THE YEAR OF THE FLYING PIGS
The Racing and Diving Pigs wowed the crowds at Ekka for the very first time, flying through the sky and diving into a pool of water 2016 THE RETURN OF THE OLD MUSEUM After 119 years, The Old Museum came back home to Ekka, housing the Flower and Garden Exhibition and Quilts Across Queensland 2017 EKKA’S 140TH ANNIVERSARY The Ekka celebrates a remarkable milestone - its 140th anniversary An early children’s fireworks display features in EkkaNITES for the first time in recent history 2018 INVESTING IN AGRICULTURE The RNA invested in its charter of championing and celebrating agriculture, building two new event facilities that were used at Ekka for the very first time. The Pavilion was partially used to house beef and dairy cattle, dairy goats and poultry, while Marquee 2 was the new Woodchop Arena 2019 NEW PARK FOR DOGS Alexandria Park, completed in April 2019, became the new home of one of Ekka’s largest and most popular competitions - Dogs 2020 EKKA CANCELLED FOR ONLY THE THIRD TIME IN HISTORY DUE TO THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC 2021 EKKA CANCELLED ONE WEEK BEFORE GATES OPEN, DUE TO THE CONTINUING COVID-19 PANDEMIC 2022 THE HISTORIC RETURN OF THE EKKA, ATTENDED BY MORE THAN 345,000 PEOPLE
Page 15 *Historical information and statistics sourced from ‘Showtime – A History of the Brisbane Exhibition’ by Joanne Scott and Ross Laurie, 2008; and RNA Archives.
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