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1887 Adelaide
| Name: | Jubilee International Exhibition aka Adelaide Jubilee International Exhibition of the Arts, Agriculture, and Manufactures |
| Dates: | 21 Jun 1887, 7 Jan 1888 – some suggest it was extended to 17 Jan |
| Days: | 172 days, not open on Sundays |
| Venue: | Jubilee Exhibition Building – 7,952 sq m (85,600 sq ft) the site was c18 acres |
| Theme: | Colonial self-sufficiency and skill |
| Exhibitors: | 2,200 exhibits – from 26 nations and colonies |
| Awards: | 3,426 awards: |
| Visitors: | 789,074 – admission 1s adults , 6d children (school trips 3d) and season tickets for one guinea – visitors were predominantly provincial, without many overseas guests |
| Legacy: | £100 profit – spent on public utilities |
The exhibition was not just marking Queen Victoria’s jubilee but also the 50th anniversary of the Proclamation of South Australia. The original agreement came under fire for extravagance and a lesser plan was approved.
The new agreement included a £32,000 grant for the creation of a permanent main building and a second temporary building. The cost of running the Exhibition was expected to be met by admission charges.
The site was held on two levels with a staircase joining the buildings It was adjacent to the River Torrens.
It coincided with the joining of Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane by rail – a branchline was constructed from the Adelaide railway station to the Exhibition Building.
The main building had a dome 34.1m (112 ft) wide and 58.5m (192 ft) high from the ground to its top. It had display courts, restaurants, and a concert hall for eight hundred. There was also a Northern annex, a Machinery Hall, and an Agricultural Hall. It was reported that, remarkably for that time, the buildings were completed for the opening day.
The formal opening ceremony on 21 June 1887 started with a prayer and a performance of the Exhibition Cantata. Sir Edwin Smith, Vice-President of the South Australian Commission, presented the GovernorSir William Robinson with a golden master key to the Building, all the locks having been donated by Chubb. It closed with the orchestra and chorus playing The Song of Australia.
The admission fees were set at 1s adults and 6d children, however those who visited as part of a school trip were charged just 3d. Season ticketswere available for one guinea.
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Exhibitors from around Australia included 469 from New South Wales, 536 from South Australia and 500 from Victoria. Western Australia was the only Australian colony that did not exhibit. Great Britain delivered 600 exhibitors, with 300 each from Austria, Belgium and Germany.
There was a ‘tableaux of savage life’ featuring aborigines from two missions – a ‘human zoo’.
A numer of juries awarded a total of 3,426 medals.
60th year of reign had the
Brisbane Exhibition on the rear
The event made a small profit, and created 2,700 jobs during the event. The visitor spends boosted the local economy. The main buildingwas the city’s exhibition facility for 75 years, it was pulled down in 1962.
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