Our History

Prior to 1998, the Fox Studios Australia site was host to Sydney’s Royal Easter Show - the largest event held in Australia, and the sixth largest in the world. Since 1869, the Show has opened every year, except during the Spanish flu in 1919 and between the years of 1942 and 1946 when, it was, interrupted by World War II. The first Easter Show was held in 1823 and, in 1881, the New South Wales Government provided land for the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) at Moore Park where the show was held for 116 years. In 1998, the Show moved to a new showground and the former Sydney Showground at Moore Park became the home to Fox Studios Australia.

The largest single event of the Show was the Grand Parade on Easter Saturday when livestock of various classes were paraded to the public. This spectacular sight presented everything from Shetland ponies to Brahman bulls and Clydesdale stallions to huge audiences.

From 1902 to 1919, we saw the expansion of the site to the south and from 1920 – 1937, the Moore Park Showground expanded to the north. The standout features of the complex by this time were the peripheral walls, the Members’ Grandstand clock tower and the tower of the Anthony Hordern building (now the Banquet Hall).

The Government Pavilion, now Stage 1 and the Commemorative Pavilion, now Stage 7, were built after 1938. Trees that line the former cattle-judging ring between Stage 1 and Stage 3 were planted during this time and add to the wonderful character of the present site.