Brisbane Showgrounds

Brisbane Exhibition Ground

Ekka
Former names	RNA Showgrounds Ekka Grounds
Location	Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland
Coordinates	27°27′0″S 153°1′58″E
Owner	The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland
Operator	The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland
Capacity	25,490
Construction
Broke ground	1880
Opened	1886
Tenants
Brisbane Bandits (ABL) (1990–1994) Brisbane Bandits (ABL) (2010–present)
Ground information
International information
First Test	30 November – 5 December 1928: Australia v England
Last Test	16–20 January 1931: Australia v West Indies
As of 9 January 2015 Source: ESPNcricinfo

The Brisbane Exhibition Ground (also known as the RNA Showgrounds and the Ekka Grounds), is a heritage-listed showground established in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia during 1875 especially for Ekka (formally titled the Royal Queensland Show). The Exhibition ground is owned and operated by The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland. The Ekka is a show held at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground over two weeks in August each year. Because the Ekka is only held over a two-week period each year, other displays and exhibitions are held at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground during the remainder of the year.

History

The site of the Exhibition ground was originally inhabited by the indigenous 'Turrbal' or 'Duke of York clan' who used the area as a campground. The original European name was "York's Hollow".

The Brisbane Exhibition Ground was also the site chosen for the people of Brisbane to welcome Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, when they visited Australia during 1954. It was Queen Elizabeth's first visit to Australia as Queen.

Use as a sportsground

Sport has also been a major feature at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground, but is now only home to the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League. Sports played at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground have included:

• Baseball
  The Australian Baseball League team Brisbane Bandits was based at the ground during the early 1990s. They returned to the ground in 2010 for the first season of the revamped Australian Baseball League. The end of the 2010–11 season was interrupted by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods, with many games postponed and cancelled. The Showgrounds will again play host to the Bandits for the 2011–12 season from November to February.

Unlike many purpose built baseball diamonds, the Showgrounds, much like Coopers Stadium is an oval, allowing for deep foul territory. To counter this foul territory, the field has lines of demarcation that prevent many would-be foul balls from being caught.

• Cricket
  28 first-class cricket matches were played between 1893 and 1931, including 2 Tests and 13 Sheffield Shield matches. The first ever Queensland Sheffield Shield game was played at the ground, with Queensland losing to longtime arch-rivals New South Wales.
  The Test against England in 1928/29 was the first Test played in Brisbane and was the debut of Don Bradman who scored 18 and 1.
  The 3rd Test of the series against the West Indian cricket team in 1930/31 was the last first-class fixture at the ground. Brisbane's Exhibition Ground had a short lifespan, staging only two Tests and a couple of dozen first-class matches before being completely replaced by the Gabba. The venue was home of local agricultural shows, and when Brisbane was finally granted a Test in 1928–29, it was held at the Exhibition Ground as it was a natural amphitheatre and so could accommodate more people. However, revenue from that match, and the Test which followed in 1930–31, was disappointing, largely because of the numbers who got in for free by using their agricultural society badges, and the Queensland Cricket Association moved down the road to the Gabba. The venue is no longer used for cricket and instead hosts the annual RNA show which attracts over 500,000 people, as well as speedway and equestrian events. It is situated in the suburb of Bowen Hills and is very close to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
• Rugby League
  Rugby League was played at the Exhibition Grounds before the QRL moved to Lang Park.
  The Brisbane Exhibition Ground hosted many International, State and club games. At the Exhibition Ground Great Britain won the first Ashes series on Australian soil. Rugby league holds the attendance record for the ground with 40,500 (with a further estimated 10,000 locked out) at the England v Australia test on 6 July 1946.
• Tennis
  In 1895 the first inter-colonial tennis match took place with Queensland playing New South Wales.
• Cycling
  In 1896 the ground was used for cycle racing.
• Rugby Union
  It hosted one of the most controversial rugby union games in 1971 when Australia took on South Africa – the game was switched from Ballymore because it was easier to erect barricades at the Exhibition Ground.
• Australian rules football
  QFL games were played at the ground prior to, and just after, World War I.
  The ground hosted the 1950 Interstate Carnival, won by the Victorian Football League (VFL) side.
  The ground was also host to a VFL premiership match, Essendon vs Geelong, as part of Round 8, 1952. All VFL matches that week were moved to country and interstate venues in an effort to spread interest in the game. Originally to be played on a Saturday afternoon, the match was rescheduled due to torrential rain. Essendon (23.17) defeated Geelong (12.14) by 69 points the following Monday night in the first official VFL match to be played under floodlights.
• Motorsport
  Starting in 1926, the Ekka was home to Dirt track racing in Brisbane. Motorcycle speedway, Sprintcars, Super Sedans, and Speedcars headlining many a Saturday night show during the summer months with many famous competitors racing at the 425 metres (465 yards) Ekka track, including Speedcar drivers Jack Brabham, Ray and Howard Revell, George Tattnell, Bob "Two Gun" Tattersall, Blair Shepherd and Ron Wanless, and international Solo riders Ivan Mauger, John Titman, Steve Regeling, Troy Butler, Billy Sanders, Phil and Jason Crump, Sam Ermolenko, Simon Wigg, Leigh Adams, Craig Boyce and Tony Rickardsson. After the cars stopped using the venue during the early 1980s in favour of the Archerfield Speedway which was not only wider but had a clay surface, speedway faded at the Ekka though the venue continued to host motorcycle racing into the late 1990s including holding events such as the Australian Solo Championship (held at the Ekka in 1934 (3 lap), 1947 (4 lap), 1949 (4 lap), 1951, 52 and 53 (Champion of Champions), 1974, 1981, 1990, 1993 and 1997). The Ekka also hosted the Australian Sidecar Championship in 1961, 1962 and 1992. Speedway somehow never had a 'final night' at the Ekka which now hosts an annual Vintage Speedway meeting every year featuring restored speedway cars and bikes which competed not only at the Ekka but around Australia. The Ekka also hosted rounds of the Australian Speedway Masters Series (also known as the "Series 500") between 1995 and 2000. The Ekka traditionally held the Grand Final of the Series 500.

Heritage listing

The showgrounds were listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 2003.

See also

• List of Test cricket grounds

External sources

• Brisbane Showgrounds official web site
• Ekka history What’s the Ekka? – and the Brisbane Exhibition Ground
• Brisbane Showgrounds at Austadiums