Royal Easter Show Flashback: 1996

Source: Harvey, A. 1996. "Dung, dancers: the fun begins". The Sydney Morning Herald, March 30: 5. 

This week, The Royal Easter Show commences at Sydney Olympic Park. Each year, I look back at the Easter Show as it was 25 years ago. 

This year, the focus is on 1996. It was the second last show to be held at the Moore Park site. In October 1996, plans for the new showgrounds were unveiled as construction commenced. 

Dates: March 29 - April 9, 1996

Admission & Transport:

Adults - $14 (up $1 from 1995)

Children - $7

Tertiary Students - $10

Pensioners - $10

Family Tickets - From $25

Showlink tickets were available combining public transport with show entry (Appears to include Moore Park buses and rail for the first time). 

Discounted evening entry was available for $6 after 6pm. 

Parking at Moore Park cost $7 per vehicle. 

In 2021, it will cost $43.50 for adults , $27.50 for Children and $28 for concession. However, discounts will apply if purchased early. Due to COVID-19, public transport will not be included in the ticket and tickets must be purchased online. 

Highlights

• Australian Defence Force Exhibition
• Supertank Mobile Fishing Show featuring the world's largest mobile fishing tank. 
• Battle Star Australis & Fireworks nightly. This also included Rocketman. 
• Closing Night Rock Concert featuring Silverchair, Spiderbait, Midget & Even Play

"The End of Grunge Music" uploaded Silverchair's performance at the closing night concert. Click here to view it. 

Source: Harvey, A. 1996. "A winning show for all creatures great and small". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 10: 2.

An estimated 920 000 attended the Royal Easter Show in 1996. COVID-19 restrictions have capped daily attendances for 2021 for 60 000 per day, allowing for only 720 000 attendees. 

Showbags

220 Showbags were on sale from $2 through to $12 (Compared with $2 to $10 in 1995).  In 2021, around 350 showbags will be on sale (down from 358 in 2019). 

Below is an assortment of Showbag advertisements. In 2021, we can inspect show bags online several weeks before the show begins and see the items featured. Advertising of showbags in the preview guide has been scaled back as a result in recent years. If you cannot attend the Easter Show but crave showbags, some suppliers e.g. Bensons will sell the showbags online. 

Most advertisements were sourced from the 1996 Royal Easter Show preview magazine that was published in The Sun Herald on March 24 1996 while several were sourced from a supplement published in The Daily Telegraph on March 27 1996. Unfortunately, page numbers were not published in either publication. 

Cola Cola

Always a highly recommended bag to buy

Mega Bags 

In 1995, they went for a smaller advertisement, but upsized for 1996.

Candy World 

Whenever I compare their offerings for the 1990's, one always got better value for money than today. While other suppliers improve the quality of their offerings, this is one that has slipped. This is referring to their general showbags

Pepsi had a great showbag on offer and I do remember purchasing the Tazo showbag. 

Triple M Showbag

Sourced from The Daily Telegraph "Show Guide '96" supplement (March 27, 1996).

Nestle 

Sourced from The Daily Telegraph "Show Guide '96" supplement (March 27, 1996).

Nestle provided another simple newspaper advertisement as in 1995. Note that Bertie Beetle was $2. 

Bensons

Unlike 1995, Bensons provided detailed descriptions of their bags in their advertisement.

Below are some extra feature articles. The first article is from The Sydney Morning Herald (April 6, 1996) reporting on Good Friday, which is traditionally the busiest day for show attendances.

Source: Lewis, L. 1996. "Show goes on but Dagwood's day is done". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 6: 4. 

On March 29, 1996, The Daily Telegraph published an opening day feature. It reported that a day at the Easter Show was set to cost families $200. 

Finally, 2021 will be the first year where is no printed Easter Show Guide or preview guide. It can only be viewed online but there is a small liftout in yesterday's edition of The Sunday Telegraph. I had collected Easter Show guides from 1999 through to 2019 and sadly are now consigned to history.

Property Advert of the Week: Wattle Grove (1993)

This weeks advertisement is from my collection of real estate advertisements for the suburb of Wattle Grove. This one was published in The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader  in 1993 to promote a new land release. Blocks of land could be purchased for as low as $60 000.

Source: Delfin Reality. 1993. "Wattle Grove" (Advertisement).  The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, April 13: 6.

1998: AMEX Building Redevelopment

Photo taken by the Author (2021). 

The King George Tower (commonly known as the American Express Building) at the corner of George and King Street's was designed by John Andrews. The office building completed in 1976 rises to a height of 131 metres or 32 storeys. In 1983, it won the John Sulman medal.

It was an innovative building for its time, particularly for attempts to promote energy efficiency and facing the corner of two city streets.

Source: Totaro, P. 1996. "Tower branches out into $60m greenhouse". The Sydney Morning Herald, March 12: 5. 

Two decades later, building owners AMP Capital and Industry Superannuation Property Trust decided to upgrade the building to make it Sydney's first "bio-climatic" tower. The idea was to ensure that it remained innovative by incorporating new technologies to boost energy efficiency.

Gardens would be placed at various levels on the south west corner of the tower while innovative glazing would replace the polycarbonate sunshades. Both would work in tandem to control the temperatures inside the building.

Shops that were located underground were moved up to street level, reflecting the desire of Sydney City Council to boost street activity and improve the streetscape. 

Source: Susskind, A. 1998. "Architect sees prized tower turned into a 'joke'". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 16: 3. 

As the refurbishment neared completion in 1998, architect John Andrews expressed his dismay telling The Sydney Morning Herald that he tried to "avoid looking at it" and that Sydney City Council was "gutless" for approving it and allowing it to be "ruined".  However those associated with the refurbishment claimed that articles had been written about it and that there was an interest by university students and architectural firms for tours.

Current owners, Investa and Brookfield recently undertook another refurbishment of the tower. The podium was renovated and the gardens have disappeared. They have maintained the focus on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. In addition a six level mixed retail and commercial annex was constructed. 

There will be those who will not agree with the renovations as some buildings are to be preserved in their original shape or form but modern skyscrapers do need the ability to evolve with the times and to respond to the needs of businesses that seek office space. 388 George Street also faces competition in attracting tenants to city towers, especially with the options available at Barangaroo and soon to be at Circular Quay. 388 George Street is a building that seeks to reflect current innovations and I see that as the years progress, it will be a building that adapts to the times.

Below are photos of the recently renovated podium taken by yours truely.

Property Advert of the Week: Harlequin Homes Advertisement (1985)

Below is a newspaper advertisement from 1985 by Harlequin Homes promoting their Exhibition Centre at Wetherill Park. 

 

Source: Harlequin Homes. 1985. "The Secret is Out" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, August 23: 29. 

1996: Demolition of the Nestle Factory Chimney

In 1996, the chimney at the former Nestle Factory in Abbotsford was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the site into a new medium density development - Abbotsford Cove. The factory operated between 1918 and 1991.

Below is an article from The Daily Telegraph reporting on the demolition.

Source: Seymour, T. 1996. "Old chimney falls from grace". The Daily Telegraph, September 2: 3.

The Chimney was demolished on September 21 1996 with the public invited to attend. Peter Wilkin, a student from Abbotsford Public School pressed the trigger.  An estimated 1000 people attended and were treated to a sausage sizzle and entertainment. 

Source: Banks, A. 1996. "Down the chimney". The Sunday Telegraph, September 22:39. 

Canada Bay Council Local Studies Collection have published a photo of the demolition. They claim it was circa 1995, which contradicts the newspaper reports. 

 

Source: van Gerwen, A. 2012. Abbotsford Cove. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/canadabayconnections/7174613344/in/photolist-bVZJsQ-bVZLA5. Accessed 17 February 2021. 

Nestle no longer produce their products in Sydney, they maintain a corporate presence at Rhodes and a distribution centre is located at Arndell Park. 

Property Advert of the Week: Hooker-Rex Land Sales Advertisement (1966)

Below is a newspaper advertisement from Hooker-Rex dating from 1966. Three blocks of land were on offer at Kendall Street, Sans Souci and nine blocks of land at Cross Street, Baulkham Hills.  

Only a £70 deposit ($140) was required.

 

Source: Hooker-Rex Sales. 1966. "Select your site now" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, October 1:50. 

Note: Advertising in pounds, shillings and pence was permitted for two years following the introduction of decimal currency in 1966. 

1964: Westfield Burwood Plans released

Full Citation Below

In 2016, I published an entry on the opening of Westfield Burwood in 1966. This year, the complex will turn 55.  Below is a clipping from The Daily Telegraph in July 1964 relating to the announcement of plans by Westfield to construct the centre. One eventual tenant (Mark Foys) was reported to have announced that they would open a store in the new centre. 

Source. Anon. 1964. "£2m. Plan for Burwood". The Daily Telegraph, July 1:9. 

This was not the final scheme. In June 1965, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the planned shopping centre had enlarged to encompass more of the block, which would be the built design. Additional retail space was added along with an office block facing Burwood Road.  

Source: Anon. 1965. "Myer's Gets Store Site Sought by Mark Foy's". The Sydney Morning Herald, June 17: 1. 

Despite three years of negotiations, Mark Foys was unsuccessful to act as the anchor for the new centre. Farmers (owned by Myer) was successful in securing the lease for 100 000 square feet of space (up from 80 000 square feet in the previous scheme). Mark Foys had to settle for a smaller space within the centre. 

Related:

MILESTONE: Westfield Burwood opens (1966)

Property Advert of the Week: Archer Homes Advertisement (1965)

Below is a newspaper advertisement featuring model homes on offer from Archer Homes dating from 1965. 

 

Source: Archer Homes Pty. Ltd. 1965. "See the value and build with Archer" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, April 10:22. 

 The homes featured in the advertisement were:

"Camden" (Pendle Hill)

"Sylvan" (Sylvania Heights)

"Pacific" (Villawood)

More than fifty five years later, the "Camden" is still standing at 568 Great Western Highway, Pendle Hill, along with the "Sylvan" at 378 Princes Highway, Sylvania Heights. 

1988: Hotel Intercontinental Sydney & Protecting View Corridors

Hotel InterContinental Sydney. Photo taken by the Author (2020).

The Hotel InterContinental Sydney is one of the best hotels to stay with a five star rating. It has been open since 1984 and was built on the site of the former Treasury Building, which was incorporated into the hotel.

In 1988, its owner - English Tycoon and owner of the hotel Lord Alistair McAlpine purchased the adjoining Transport House (1938) for $69 million dollars, outbidding Sid Londish and a Japanese consortium.

He bought the building because he was worried that a future development of the site would block the views of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour which allowed the hotel to charge a premium for its a visitors. This was his justification for the price. Londish only bid $45 million. 

Transport House as viewed from Phillip Street. Photo taken by the Author (2021).

His vision was to incorporate Transport House into the InterContinental Hotel. Today, it is still owned by the hotel but provides office space. It has been listed by the NSW Government on the State Heritage Register. In 2019, there was a proposal to build a ballroom atop the building, but Sydney City Council raised heritage and visual concerns.

Looking back at McAlpine's decision, it has proven to be a wise decision. Apart from rental on the office space in Transport House and the ability to extend the hotel onto the site, the hotel has never had to worry about the loss of harbour views. It has allowed for the hotel to continue to charge a premium and remain as one of the leading hotels for visitors to Sydney. Imagine the loss of income from rooms had he not bought the building, and the impact would be more than $69 million in the long term.

And also it saved another old building from potential demolition.

Source: LaHarnar, N. 1988. "Lording It Over The $69m View". The Daily Mirror, November 30: 5.