Description

This free point of interest offers toilets and a dump point. It is dog friendly. It is accessible to caravans. No camping or overnight parking allowed. HISTORY Located on the western edge of the township, the establishment of the showgrounds was made possible when ten acres of land was set aside by the Commissioner of Crown Lands in 1882. At this time the land was vested in the Central Yorke Peninsula Agricultural Society. The grandstand and attached single-storey show building were built in two stages, the single-storey show building in the 1880s-1890s, and the grandstand in front of this building some time after 1909. A stone wall of locally quarried stone was built in 1908 and encloses part of the showground. The heritage value of the showground is described: 'As a complex serving a specific community purpose since at least 1882, it reflects the importance of agricultural societies in farming communities throughout the state and in particular the dominance of farming in the Yorke Peninsula region ... The importance of these annual shows, as a means of disseminating new ideas in techniques and machinery should not be underestimated ... Minlaton provided a convenient centre for surrounding farms on Yorke Peninsula.... The showground building is of historical interest because it represents tangible evidence of the process of closer settlement and provided an important information link for farmers in the region.'