In this week’s “Know Your News”, we look back to the history of the Brisbane Queen Festival in Largs.

The event was launched during the austerity of the 1930s to give a timely boost to the town during the Glasgow Fair holiday, and went on to attract upwards of 10,000 to Barrfields.

Its purpose was to celebrate the legacy of Sir Thomas Brisbane who was governor of New South Wales between 1821 and 1825, and was a generous benefactor to the town.

One of his greatest achievements, in his own eyes, was the construction of Brisbane Academy in Lade Street to give local children the opportunity of a better education, and provision of a new sewage system in Largs to clear the streets of dirty water, which helped prevent deadly diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

The Largs branch of TocH was one of many local organisations who contributed towards the community activities of Brisbane Queen Week, it was reported in an article about the history of the fair in 1977.

The article stated: “It was the TocH Branch who collaborated with Largs Town Council in organising the first ever Carnival Queen event in 1934. The idea was to provide an extra attraction during the Glasgow Fair holiday fortnight.” The word famous Pathe News broadcasts even filmed some of the early years of the event which still exist in the archives, and demonstrate the sheer elegance and beauty of the pageantry of the occasion. The videos can be viewed on YouTube.

The first Carnival Queen was Miss Sadie McNab, before it became known as The Brisbane Queen, and Ena Baird was bestowed with the privilege, and it carried on annually till the outbreak of WW2.

It was a huge local event which originally took place on a Wednesday afternoon (half day closing for shops) during July, changed in the mid-60s to Colm’s Fair day during June, and then reverted back to July in the 80s.

It was initially a massive local event involving the entire community - the pupils and teachers of the high school playing a major part in the proceedings. Each year had a particular theme, and businesses and organisations created floats for the parade.

After the war, the Brisbane Queen day was re-introduced in 1947 with Janet Owens being crowned in a ceremony which was a great attraction for holidaymakers and locals.

In the next few years Brisbane Queen Festival developed with street parades and games. In 1950 there were 10,000 people at Barrfields to watch Elizabeth Crawford crowned Queen. There was a short break in the history of the event in 1953 when the Largs Town Council decided it would be a mockery to hold a Brisbane Queen festival in Coronation year.

It was also cancelled in 1957 when the Queen visited Largs to open Inverclyde Recreation Centre.

The years of bumper crowds and thousands of people lining the streets for the procession has waned but it appeared to many to be a rash decision by the Town Council to discontinue the event in the period of 1972-73.

Fortunately they thought again and was revived in 1974. as Miss Diane Copeland was handed the prestigious honour to be Brisbane Queen.

The same formula followed in 1975 with Marie Anne Lunday. The United States Navy and 14th Submarine Squadron at the nearby Holy Loch also became associated with the festival in the 1970s.

Even the 1977 festival took no risks by insuring the grand festival against rain!

The ‘News’ reported: “The festival committee are taking no chances this week. If one tenth of rain ralls between 6pm and 9pm on Wednesday during the street parade and Barrfields jamboree of music, dancing and games, an insurance company will pay the festival organisers compensation for getting wet and having a dampner put on proceedings.

“Wednesday is a big date in the Festival Week because the local organisations stage the decorated wheels parade of floats and cars which will move from Largs Academy to Barrfields.

The flotilla of decorated wheels will park at the football ground for judging.” During the 1990s, some of the Brisbane Queens were even given the opportunity to travel down under to Australia.

Indeed, the festival made it to the millennium with previous Brisbane Queens from down the decades invited to the prestigious event which was attended by the first queen Ena Baird in the year 2000, and carried on running until 2007 who was Kerry MacPherson.