The Royal Melbourne Show

Last updated on April 11, 2018.

It’s time for a throwback to my Australian days! Every September the Royal Melbourne Show comes to town. What is the Royal Melbourne Show? Well it’s Melbourne’s version of the Great New York State Fair! Only… not quite as great. But hey, I’m biased. The Show is still lots of fun! The Melbourne show is just like a state fair, with all of the main fair attractions – food, souvenirs, rides, games, animals, music, shows… My first tip for the show: buy your tickets early online; you’ll save 20% off the gate price.

Royal Melbourne Show attractions

The first thing I did at The Show was watch a performance… that was a bit crazy. The Animal Wranglers, aka a couple of guys dressed up as clowns with various animals that they ‘wrangled’. It was a bit humorous and it kept us entertained for a few minutes before we decided we should move along.

We went through some of the animal buildings and saw all of the sheep and goats. The best building, by far, was the nursery – a building full of baby animals, all of whom had been born since the start of the show. They had a few pigs with their litters of piglets – so cute! Even better though, were the baby sheep. The two main ones on display were only a few hours old! They were each in stalls with their mothers, and still a bit messy from their births! In the main area of the giant barn, the calves and lambs roamed around free with the visitors, so we got to pet a few. We also saw lots of chickens, turkeys, emu eggs (they’re huge!), goats and rabbits.

We wandered about through some of the other exhibits – I was in awe over the cake competition! The cakes were all stunning and quite impressive. I was also really impressed with the photography on display. They were a great reminder of just how beautiful Australia is and how glad I was to be there.

It was time for us to eat, so after hunting around for something to eat, we settled on chicken sandwiches and chips. After dinner we headed over to the poultry building to see the ducks, geese, and rabbits. We caught the ‘tail-end’ of one of the dog shows too, but all of the rest of the dogs had gone home for the evening.

Royal Melbourne Show showbags

As the night wore on, we decided it was time to buy showbags! Now when I first got to Australia, everyone was telling me how much I’d love the show… and especially the showbags! They are all the rage over here. Basically, companies design ‘grab bags’ full of goodies to sell at various events (yes, I’ve noticed them at theme parks and other places since then, but the show has the biggest and most famous collection).

Before the show we went online and looked at all the different showbags that were for sale at the show. The website went as far to tell you what exactly was in each bag, its retail value, and then the price that you had to pay for the bag. Some of the deals were incredible! When we finally got to the show, I was overwhelmed  when we walked inside Showbag Alley. Basically it was a giant garage filled with booths selling different showbags. It was insane! And so much fun. I ended up only getting one showbag – from Girlfriend magazine. For less than $20, I got over $100 worth of goodies, including an overnight bag, magazines, make-up, candy, and vouchers for various shops. I have to admit, I did get caught up in the showbag hysteria – it’s hard not to!

The end of the show

To end the evening, we went over to the arena to watch the fireworks show. It began with Sampson, the monster truck, and three famous Australian moto-cross riders. They were a lot of fun to watch! When the riders finished their tricks, the music starting blasting from the speakers accompanied by a laser light show that was synced to the beats of the songs. It was awesome!

The fireworks display was really nice as well. To end our day at the show, we ordered some hot jam donuts (yum!) to eat while we waited for the train home.

Keep in mind that I was in Melbourne several years ago. Since I’ve been gone, the show has only gotten bigger and better! Some of the things discussed in this post may have also changed in the time since I’ve visited. But don’t worry, showbags are just as popular as ever!

Happy travels!

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