Gladstone Show

[Josh in Rocky]

Hey all, as a warm up for ekka this weekend, heading down to Gladdy tomorrow for their show day. Have no idea what is there, maybe our Gladdy members will do a review for us or something? They running speedway at night so they should get a bit of a crowd through. Will take a few pics as well.

[Top Gunner14]

Sounds good Josh, you racing or doing anything with the speedway?

[tooheyzz]

I don't think I'll get there this year with work and all
The Gladstone show has been on a downhill slide for a number of years But apparently they have made some changes this year

It would be Great if Josh Reports back that I've missed out on something

There is quite a movement to boycott Gladstone show since they moved it from June to August as that caused the lost of a four day weekend
I still many many Gladstonites spend the show day in Rockhampton shopping
I can't imagine many major rides attending with the ekka on as well which is a shame as when it was in june it fitted in with the northern run just before rocky show so a few majors stopped off in Gladstone

Gladstone showgrounds really struggles for space and now even more so now they are offside with the council who and want them to relocate
A few years ago the council put an end to the closing of one of the side streets to allow for camping for the showies so that reduced the available space inside the grounds

[princess]

Could be more going on behind the scenes, that only a few people know about

[Josh in Rocky]

Thanks for the background on the shoe tooeeyz, sort of wasnt expecting much, but I'll go for a squizz anyways.
No that you mention coming to rocky for shopping, I noticed alot of adds on tv in rocky at moment regarding Gladstone show day holiday 'sales'
Not racing Gunner, waiting to get my new car on the dyno before it goes out to get dirty. I take mine to Maryborough for Dyno work,(400kms away) so still be a week or 2 away from having a skid.
Anyways, will post some pics tomorrow night when we get home.

[Josh in Rocky]

Hey hey, well we made it to Gladdy last night and well it was scarily quiet. Looked like everyone would have struggled and can now see why the council is putting pressure on to move it. That being said, the gear that was there was very well presented and pretty impressive. Marchs' had their Hurri and Whizzer and a few others, and Gill Bros had their Ali Baba, Dodgem track and a few kiddie rides etc. The 3 dodgem tracks that were there seemed to be the most popular and they all looked great. Still have huge respect for the quality of Gill Bros gear and trucks as all their gear looked as good as it did new, as I have come to expect.
Here's a few pics...
My girls hitting the teacups again...


Noticed on another thread talk about Mirror Mazes, here's one...














How cool is this thing! Pic doesn't do it justice, but its a fishing simulator... Different hey..


There it is, didn't seem to be many stalls etc, and the in ring entertainment of speedway had 5 cars, so the rest of the show was a little dissapointing and the vibe around the place didnt feel very exciting... Was more like, when can we get out of here... But was something to do and we still had a nice night out.
Bring on the weekend!!!

[princess]

Very sad, well done getting the photos up

[Zamperla]

One of my first memories of a show was Gladstone when I was a young baby of kindergarten age, on a holiday with the parents. I distinctly remember two rides - Hurricane and a HUSS Enterprise, and could even see the Hurri in a distance from the hotel room window.

[DEEFA DODGEM]

The Huss Enterprise, would that have been Shorts' Orion ride back then? Don't know of any others that came up this way around the time you are talking about.

[Zamperla]

Year would've been around 1983, I remember the Hurri had a 'lollypop' sign on the top, could have been Durkins.

[tooheyzz]

Yes the 80z Gladstone show were quite good Gladstone was in one of it many construction booms so guess there was plenty of money around

apparently they had a good crowd during the day but that could have been PR blab from the show society

The the old council want the show ground relocated to a area along with the horse racing track and the area used as a retirement village
but this seems to have been dropped since the new merged council was elected
the race track move isn't a goer either the government rejected funding it

guess its catch 22 operators won't bring more gear if the crowds aren't there
its going to take something big to bring crowds back
There are many who are still pissed they moved the show date causing the loss of the 4 day weekend in june

They said the reason for the date change was cause many people left town for the long weekend so didn't go to the show


Many people also compare the show with our Easter harbour festival which has excellent stage entertainment and a great carnival atmosphere and from what i here
from many a big plus is Free entry

One of the Hurricanes they came to the show during the 80z had Midway Amusements on it I can remember at least once the show had 2 hurricanes

[DEEFA DODGEM]

Zamperla, Iam 99% sure the Hurricane you are talking about with the "lollypop" was Durkins. It would have been dark blue in colour. There was another Hurricane up this way then, but fairly sure it was red and yellow and it was owned by Colin Davis Jr.

[Zamperla]

Deefa, yes I remember it as being blue in colour. Rides must have made a big impact on me even at that young age. I remember riding the merry-go-round, that was enough Gladstone Show action for a 3-yr old.

[tooheyzz]

Mmy Older sister took me on the zipper at almost 8 never been on again I'm scared for life LOL