Royal Easter Show Flashback: 1994

One of the best times of the year for Sydney is Easter Show time when the country visits the city. It has become a custom to post a snapshot of a previous Easter show from a generation ago.

This year I will look back at 1994.

Source: Royal Agricultural Society of NSW. 1994. "The Royal Easter Show" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph Mirror, March 25: 25. 

Dates: March 25 - April 5, 1994

Admission & Transport:

Prices remained unchanged from 1993.

Adults - $13

Children - $7

Concession - $10

Showlink tickets were available combining a return rail fare with show entry. Free shuttle buses also ferried showgoers from the city to connect with CBD rail and bus service. 

Special evening tickets $5 were available for the first week of the show.

In 2019, it will cost $43 for adults if purchased at the gate, $27 for Children and $33 for concession. However, discounts apply if purchased online or at a Woolworths Supermarket. Public transport is also included. For an adult, assume it will cost around $10-$15 for transport to and from Sydney Olympic Park.

Attendance: 870 000 (up from 855 000 in 1993).

Good Friday (April 2) was the busiest day at the 1994 Royal Easter Show.

Source: Allport, B. & Blackburn, R. 1994. "Show a real traffic stopper". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, April 2: 5. 

Highlights

• Robosaurus was the evening highlight in the Main Arena (Returned in 1999 and 2010). 
• The Easter Show Parade occurred on March 24 through central Sydney.
• Russia was the guest nation.

Below is a preview feature on Robosaurus.

Source: Benson, B. "Dinosaur the star of the show". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, March 24: 18. 

Showbags

Nearly 200 Showbags were on sale from $2 through to $10. This year 358 are on offer and retail for up to $40.

I was fortunate to find a showbag review from The Daily Telegraph Mirror that children from Paddington Public School took part in. Today its the children from the Children's Hospital that perform the road test. In the road test, showbags including Jurassic Park, Mega Dolls, Candyman and the Magic Bag were given the highest ratings. Triple M and Coca Cola were recommended as value for money showbags.

Source: de Vine, B. 1994. "The fun of the show is in the bag". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, February 15: 14-15. 

Below is an assortment of Showbag advertisements. This year has seen a huge shift with a significant reduction in advertising space for showbags in the preview guide. Showbag contents will need to be viewed online, whereas until last year, the contents were publically listed in the advertisement.

Note in 1994, you also had each individual showbag and its contents at least printed in print form.

Mega Bags - Many of them continue to be available 25 years later.

Candy World - I am of the view that the Mars bags etc seemed better back then than now. You get little in their showbags and doesn't seem to change.

Nestle - Bertie Beetle bags in 2019 will still cost just $2, though there are more pricey bags if you want more of them. Many of the Nestle Favourites have always been part of the bag offering at the show,

Triple M Showbag

An assortment of bags on offer below.

I am assuming that this is from Bensons, which I see as the leader in showbags. On offer including Cadbury bags, Terminator 2, Beverly Hills 90210 and Jurassic Park.

Gag Magic -  Another popular seller at the show of the years.