The Perth Royal Show is an annual show held in Perth, Western Australia at the Claremont Showgrounds. It features informational exhibits, agricultural competitions and display animals, a fairground and rides, and show-bags. It has been held for over 100 years and is organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia. It currently occurs during the spring school holidays (either the last week of September or the first week of October) and attracts around 500,000 people a yar. Perth is the capital city of Western Australia. ... Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ...

History

The Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia, established 1831, has held the annual show at the Claremont grounds since 1894. The show has been named an icon of Western Australia.

The primary purpose of the show was to show-cast western Australia industry, primarily agriculture. It has been the venue for the display of new animal breeds and sports.

The first show included equestrian events, sheep dog trials, wood chopping, and prizes for cattle and sheep. These events are still part of the show today.

The Modern Show: 2005 Royal Show

According to the official Show website, this year's Show will open on Saturday 24 September 2005, and close Saturday 1 October 2005 - the show lasts for 8 days. September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Transport and parking

The show attracts around 500,000 people. This has created new problems for the Claremont venue, which was selected over 100 years ago.

Parking at the Show is notoriously difficult. To facilitate the growth of the show parking space is hired on private front lawns and school / club parking lots in areas proximate to the Show. This activity is community natured, and is often organised by school children or run as a fundraiser for a school or club. A fundraiser is a social function, e. ...

Showgrounds train station, a common entry point to the Show.

A rail station at the grounds is open for the brief period of the show. The Fremantle line of thepublic transport system provides transport during the show and other notable events at the Claremont Showgrounds. A busy service also operates to the nearby area. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 388 KB) Transperth Showgrounds Train Station File links The following pages link to this file: Showgrounds railway station, Perth ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 388 KB) Transperth Showgrounds Train Station File links The following pages link to this file: Showgrounds railway station, Perth ... Fremantle Line is a suburban railway line in Perth, Australia. ... Transperth controls the public transport (by contracting other companies) in Perth, Western Australia. ... The Claremont Showgrounds were built in 1905 in the Perth suburb of Claremont. ...

Showbags and Sideshow ally

The scope of the show has also expanded. Although it includes traditional events – such as animal competitions – its agricultural focus has been somewhat replaced by a commercial fairground atmosphere.

The ‘showbag,’ which became part of Australian shows as an advertising gimmick, are now sold at $2 to $50 each and contain a number of cheap novelty toys and candy. Show-bags are related to a particular candy product, television show, brand name (e.g. Coca-Cola), or may be ‘jumbo’ bags containing a number of prands (e.g. ‘the Mighty Mammomth’ bag). They are a focal point of the Show for many primary school-aged children.

The show also contains a sideshow ally. Rides are paid for in the venue. Rides include a haunted house and dodgem cars. The show features the Python Loop, which is a medium-sized roller coaster as seen outside of Show times at Adventure World. Sideshow ally also features numerous show games. These include fishing, shooting, and tossing games. In 'Fishing' games the player must use a fishing rod to fish out a small plastic duck or other object, which has a prize number on the bottom. Shooting games, common at many shows, involve shooting down tin cans using a low-powered air rifle and usually, corks as ammunition. ‘Tossing’ games involve throwing balls into buckets. A haunted house is a common plot device in horror fiction or, more lately, paranormal-based fiction. ... A typical roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. ... Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ...

Shows and performances

An entry fee applies to enter the grounds. In 2005 this fee was $AU18 for adults. This was lower then it had been in previous years.

This fee covers the more ‘traditional’ aspects of the show, in providing information to western Australians. For example, free events at the show include.

• Various events in the main arena including wood-chopping, equestrian events, monster trucks
• A large number of various shows in pavilions, exhibiting such things as animals (including sheep, alpacas, cats, dogs, chickens, goats and more) and new products (foodstuffs, gardening and household tools and massages are common displays).

The fee also covers such events as An arena is a circular or oval shaped public space (akin to a classical amphitheatre), designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. ... 2005 Bigfoot monster truck racing in Arizona A monster truck is an automobile, typically a pickup truck, which has been modified or purpose built with extremely large wheels and suspension. ... Pavilion may refer to a type of building: Pavilion (structure) or to a specific building: Pavilion, New York London Pavilion Royal Pavilion Balboa Pavilion Pavilion is a brand name of computers and notebooks made by Hewlett-Packard. ...

• The Peters and Brownes Fireworks Spectacular, starting every night at 9pm
• The 'Yellow Brick Road' (costs $5), which consists of a yellow cardboard box (the 'brick'), an item checklist and a map. Following the map takes you to various places around the show at which you can obtain a sample of some sort of food upon presentation of your checklist. Common foods available include fruits, sausages, cookies, fried mushrooms and other vegetables.

Funding the show

The show was originally funded entirely by the Royal Agricultural society. The current show is funded by the Society, the Western Australian Government, visitors entry fees, competitors fees, and commercial sponsorship arrangements.

Government funding has been used to lessen entry fees rather then provide an extra revenue stream allowing growth. In September 2004, the Gallop Labor government announced that children would receive free entry to the 100th Perth Royal Show. This occurred through coupons offered in the weekly Sunday Times newspaper (rather then the daily paper, The West Australian). 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) has been the Premier of Western Australia since 2001. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... The Sunday Times is the name of several Sunday newspapers. ... The West Australian (often simply called The West) is Western Australias only daily newspaper, and is owned by ASX-listed West Australian Newspapers Limited. ...

The gesture was to mark the naming of the Royal Show in a list of "Icons" for the 175th Anniversary of Western Australia. Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ...

The announcement received a mixed response from the community. On one hand the Royal Show achieved the highest attendance figures in its history. However, critics thought $1.75 million dollars could be better spent on the health system.

References

Historical information from [Speech of Governor of Western Australia, John Sanderson.] [Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia]

External links

• The official homepage of the Perth Royal Show
• Official Show map (direct link, PDF)