Ipswich Showgrounds is an outdoor recreational area located off Salisbury Road, Warwick Road and Parker Avenue, in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.[1] It hosts the Ipswich Show, organised by the Ipswich Show Society.[2] Included within the Showgrounds is the greyhound racing track run by the Ipswich Greyhound Racing Club,[3] the Ipswich Indoor Sports Centre,[4] the Boulevard Function Room & Terrace, the Ipswich Eight Ball Association and Circus Ipswich.
The Showgrounds were first used by the Queensland Pastoral and Agricultural Society in 1877.[2]
On 11 May 1940, a memorial was erected by the gates of the Showgrounds on Warwick Road. They commemorate the 12 people lost at sea in June 1939, when the 45ft motor boat Nerita disappeared.[5]
During the 1970s, the speedway track also saw sedan cars racing around the circuit.[6]
In 1973, the greyhound racing track opened. The track has a circumference of 444 metres and race distances are 431m, 520m, 630m and 732m.[3] The speedway track closed shortly afterwards in 1974.[6]
In 1977, the 100th anniversary of the first show took place and in recent years the site has provided a caravan park with ameneties.
