May 1, 2018
There may have been 70 people through the exhibition on Monday, but Tuesday was THE big day for Kingaroy’s 30th anniversary Expo 88 exhibition.
Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson cut the ribbon to officially open the special display at Kingaroy’s Heritage Museum.
South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell shared memories of the queues and the magnificent New Zealand pavilion.
“And the architecture. It is a big disappointment that some of those beautiful buildings that were constructed for Expo 88 are no longer there,” he said.
Jason Ford, the “Expo tragic” who has collected most of the memorabilia and who was the instigator of the exhibition, thanked the Council for helping to put on the display. However, “in the spirit of Expo 88”, he also thanked all the Council volunteers at the Museum who had also made it possible.
Former Brisbane City Council employee Peter Rasey, another “Expo tragic”, gave details of the Public Art Trail of Expo 88 artefacts that has now been established in Brisbane and south-east Queensland.
He recommended a visit to the Caboolture Historical Village where Ken Done’s famous Expo Australia sign has just been relocated and will soon undergo restoration.
Sallyanne Atkinson said Expo 88 still resonated 30 years later because it was not just a Brisbane event.
“People came from all over Australia,” she said.
“Expo has meant so much to so many people.”
She admitted that she was a bit of a hoarder and had collected a lot of Expo memorabilia in her garage.
However, when her family gave her an ultimatum to clear it out, Peter had come and collected it and it was now on display at the State Library in Brisbane.
The Expo 88 display will be at the Kingaroy Heritage Museum until the end of October. Admission is free.
Footnote: Sallyanne also recalled her first visit to Kingaroy. She was a young reporter sent to interview Lady Flo. At the end of the interview, Flo gave Sallyanne a bag of manure to help her establish a garden at her new home in Brisbane ( … or was that really an editorial comment about the Brisbane Telegraph, we wonder?)
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