The Beef Australia 2015 gala ball held under the stars on the Cremorne Lawn at the Rockhampton Showgrounds was one of the highlights of Beef Australia, a triennial week-long promotion of this country’s beef cattle industry. More than 1100 people frocked up for the event, which featured entertainment by the Red Tie Band and was the social highlight of the national beef industry exposition. As one of the world’s great beef cattle promotions, Beef Australia attracted more than 90,000 people through the gates of the Rockhampton Showgrounds. More than 1000 overseas visitors from 55 different countries attended the expo, opening the way for the industry to develop new trade and export opportunities. The expo featured more than 700 trade sites, and close to 4000 cattle were entered into the stud, commercial and carcase competitions.The program also included a conference, seminars and property tours to deliver new research information to producers.
Other social highlights of the week included the rough-and-tumble action of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Australia and a concert starring Thirsty Merc, Caitlyn Shadbolt and Mick Lindsay. Along with kiosks and outposts of restaurants such as Brisbane’s Breakfast Creek Hotel and Boucher French Bistro, there was also a pop-up International Restaurant in the People’s Bar with daily specials prepared by celebrity chefs. They included Australia’s Matt Golinksi, Alistair McLeod and Ben O’Donoghue, as well as Alvin Leung from Hong Kong, Vindex Tengker from Indonesia, and Tarek Ibrahim from the Middle East.
