Duty Calls - Showgrounds Camp 1915

ANNUAL SHOW
ABANDONED
The Minister for Defence formally
requisitioned the Showgrounds for
the war effort on 22 July 1915 and the
RASV Council announced that the
Show would be abandoned for the year.
June and July 1915 had seen a great
rush of recruits and finding suitable
accommodation for them had
been exacerbated by the problem
of incessant wet weather. Both
Broadmeadows and Seymour camps
were described as ‘quagmires’ and
there were insufficient military tents to
house recruits.
The Showgrounds buildings, used for agricultural and other exhibits during Show time, provided an excellent solution for
the accommodation and training of troops. The Showgrounds camp could billet 5500 troops and capacity was reached in late
July.