Wayville. Adelaide Showground / Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society Secretary's Office, South Australia

            Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society

The Secretary’s office has been the main administration building since its construction in 1925 and is also a venue for members and their guests: the only purpose built administrative office constructed for the Society.

The building was enlarged in 1934 to the design of Adelaide architect E Caradoc Ashton. 
Additions included larger rooms for the press and administrative spaces for the Society’s staff on the ground floor. And the first floor rooms included new offices for the Society’s Secretary and President, meeting room, bar and servery, large afternoon tea room, and men’s and ladies’ lounges and toilets. 

The Annual Shows have been organised there for the past 90 years. 
During World War Two it served as the headquarters for the armed forces based at the site.

Shortly after the 1939 Show, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) occupied the Showground and turned the site into a military base. 
As a consequence, no Shows were held between 1940 and 1946. The number of military personnel billeted at Wayville was initially 4,000, but as other sites became operational the number dropped to around 3,000 for the duration of the war. Collectively, over one million military personnel passed through the Wayville base.  
The Showground was primarily used as a Recruit Reception Depot and provided basic training to new army recruits. A number of units were formed there, including the 2/10th, 2/27th, 2/43rd and 2/48th Infantry Battalions, 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion and 2/8th Field Ambulance. 
In addition, Wayville was also used as a Leave and Transit Depot and for evacuees from the Darwin bombings. During the Army’s occupation of the site, the pavilions and other buildings were used for accommodation, communications, detention barracks, hospital, records and pay offices, ordnance store, mechanical engineers workshop, transport section and guard room. 

After the Army left in 1947, the Society began the slow process of repairing the damage done to the buildings – a process that was hindered by post-war building restrictions due to a lack of building materials. However, despite these obstacles the Society decided to run the Show in 1947. It was a huge success with the ‘show hungry’ public, and a new attendance record was set, with over half a million people passing through the turnstiles.

Taken on: September 5, 2019

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Wayville

showground

Agricultural

Horticultural

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archives

Secretary's

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E Caradoc Ashton

architect

shows

Australian

Imperial

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AIF

military

base

2/10th Battalion

2/27th Battalion

2/43rd Battalion

2/48th Battalion

2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion

2/8th Field Ambulance

headquarters

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Sets appears in: • Wayville, Goodwood, Westbourne Park, Colonel Light Gardens - South Australia

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Camera:	samsung SM-J530Y
Aperture:	f/1.7
Exposure Time:	1/2688 sec
Focal Length:	3.7mm
ISO:	40
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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