Reminisces of the Gympie Show

In this blog we share some history of how the Gympie Show started and then one of our members, Marilyn Mullaly shares memories which she and her husband have of attending ‘The Show‘.  We are hoping for a very successful show in 2023 after the past few tumultuous years.

The Gympie Show. Renowned as one of the oldest community events in Gympie, the show is a great family event. Exhibits, entertainment, art and craft displays, woodchop, horse and cattle showing, side show alley, fireworks a rodeo and other top class events, the show offers an amazing experience. All ages and interests are catered for.

Marilyn Mullaly has shared her reminisce of what show time meant to the young people of the Gympie and Cooloola region. What do you remember about the Gympie Show? During the Gympie show in May this year Ray and I were reminiscing about what we remembered about the Gympie Show and the impact it had on us as children. It was one of the most important events that happened in the local area every year and most of the local families attended. Your family would catch up with other families, friends and relatives that would congregate at the show. A family story from when Ray was 2 or 3 years old was that he became lost in the crowd and that his Uncle Keith Allen found him and returned him to the family. We both remember starting to save our money from just after Christmas, hoping to have enough to have a great time. My parents would say that they would double any amount that my sister, Jill and I could save. It was never very much that we saved but I am sure that our Uncle Don, Don Mortonson, would have made sure that we had some money to spend. Being a country kid, Ray said that he raised most of his money shooting hares and taking the ears to the council as there was a bounty paid for each pair. Staff members at the council were very trusting in believing how many pairs of ears were in the bag as Ray said that they didn’t count the pairs just paid him the money for what he said was in the bag. Not sure that would be appreciated today. A local holiday on the Friday “People’s Day” allowed many families to attend and from early in the morning traffic would start to build up on Exhibition Road and I remember the thrill of watching the policeman directing traffic just on the town side of the bridge as we waited in line for our turn to go. Because we lived on the town side of the river and rarely went across the bridge even this was exciting. As a primary school child at the Gympie Central School I remember the excitement as students from the top story of the school, you can see from the show grounds from there, would tell their mates in the playground what rides were being erected in the side show alley and when the Ferris wheel was up. The Ferris wheel was a favourite meeting place for the young people of the day and we usually were able to find our parents if we stood in front of the grandstand. Our Uncle Don always sat in the same row of seats in the grandstand so that he could watch the wood chopping and the ring events at the same time. I think he only moved from there when it was time to go home. Children were not allowed in the grandstand, so we just had to wait until our parents came down to collect us. The main pavilion was filled with exhibits from the whole district, my father, Eaton Greenhalgh, was a steward in the fruit and vegetables section in the early 1950’s and there were huge bunches of bananas, boxes of pineapples and pawpaws and bags of beans on display, district growers vied with each other to display their finest crops. Butter and cheese, sides of bacon, honey and bees and plants and flowers all had their sections for patrons to look through. Everyone delighted in the displays and competitions for cooking, sewing, painting and photography. Many of the local businesses displayed their stock. Machinery alley showcased new vehicles and machinery and there was often a bargain to be discussed in detail at the bar under the grandstand. The cattle pavilions and horse stalls were also a must to see with the poultry and birds exhibits a close second. I remember how loud the roosters crowing, in the poultry pavilion was, when following the crowd at a very slow pace through the building. 

Of course, side show alley was the place where we spent most of our time as young people, meeting friends and watching others on the rides. It always seemed really packed with people. The dodgem cars, the Ferris wheel, the whizzer and the octopus were favourites, one year my friend, Lorelle, fell out of the octopus and broke her arm, there was very little workplace, health and safety considered back then. Putting balls down the clown’s mouths for the little children or shooting at the moving metal ducks for the boys, to win, you always had to have four shots because you needed to find out how each particular gun fired. Exhibits like “the fat lady” and “the boxing tent” were well patronised with the local boys always ready for the challenge of boxing against the travelling boxers. Further excitement could be found in the main ring where the “Nat cars” used to race around the edge scattering fine dust over the crowd or watching the grand parade which seemed to take ages to file in, circle many times and then move out again. The rodeo on Saturday of the show also created much excitement, especially when the bulls or bucking horses came over close to the rails or even jumped over them and scattered the watching crowd. Often the family’s new clothes for the winter were made especially for the show. Many feet ached through wearing new shoes for the first time or sometimes we suffered wearing woollen dresses or shirts because the weather was different every year either hot, wet or the ground boggy, or cold and foggy. Shannon’s hot chips were a must while the call, hot doggy, hot doggy, hot doggy on a stick tempted many. Fairy floss, toffee apples and sample bags with actual samples in them were part of the fun. Our children and now our grandchildren are making their own memories of the Gympie show, the agricultural element of the show is changing, costs are rising, and other interests will continue to influence planning the event. However, it was such fun to reminisce and know that many other people share these fond memories. Marilyn Mullaly.