Royal Melbourne Show

Royal Melbourne Show
Crowds at the Royal Melbourne Show
Genre	Agricultural show
Begins	Mid September
Ends	Late September/Early October
Frequency	annual
Location(s)	Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia
Years active	169
Inaugurated	1848
Attendance	500,000 (2010)
Organised by	Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria
Website
http://www.royalshow.com.au/

The Royal Melbourne Show is an agricultural show held at Melbourne Showgrounds every September. It is organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and has been running since 1848. Each year Royal Melbourne Show attracts attendances of up to half a million people.

The traditional purpose is the display of rural industry, including and produce with its associated competitions and awards however the show also features amusement rides and a sideshow alley, as well as the peculiarly Australian tradition of 'Showbags', carry bags containing samples of goodies produced by various commercial enterprises.

A prominent feature during showtime are the many rides including a permanent wooden Mad Mouse roller coaster which resided at the grounds until 2001, owned by Wittingslow Amusements. A permanent chairlift also resided onsite until 2005. The site has its own railway station, used during special events located on the Flemington Racecourse line. The Thursday of the show was once observed as the Show Day public holiday in Melbourne; this holiday was abandoned in 1994.

While the Royal Show is the main show in Victoria, many cities and towns in regional Victoria host smaller shows, such as the Royal Geelong Show, Bendigo Show, Ballarat Show, Warragul Show, Whittlesea Show and the Shepparton Show.

The major rural competitions of the show include Alpaca competitions, Beef Cattle Competitions, Beef Carcase Competitions, Dairy cattle Competition, Dog Competitions, Horse Competitions, Poultry Competition, Sheep Competition, Domestic Animal Competitions, Fleece Competitions and Woodchop Competitions.