A day at the Show 1953

This photo was taken in 1953 when I was a young girl of 12. Life was a lot different then, and each year I looked forward to going to the Sydney Royal Easter Show with my friend who lived across the road. We lived at Willoughby and so caught a bus from there into the city, where we got on a tram and travelled out to the showground, all by ourselves!

We didn't spend a lot of money - and it was safe, we enjoyed wandering around and looking at the animals, wood chopping, Hall of Industries where the needlework, cake decorating etc was on show and we always seemed to have a bit of time at the ring events. We always purchased our lunch which mainly consisted of something we should not have been eating like a dagwood dog, pie, sausage roll etc. There was nothing like the food which is available at the Show now but we thought it was wonderful to be able to choose something for ourselves.

Of course we always finished off with a trip to the showbag pavilion (10 shillings to 1 pound each) - they were not as same as they are today, and it was exciting looking at what we were going to spend our saved up money on.

On the way home, there was a photographer outside the showground, and that is where the photo was taken. I assume we received a ticket and that my mother would have had to go into the city somewhere to order them and they would have been sent out via the post.

When I look back, how times have changed...

WENDY CALKIN