Prior to World War 2, The North Queensland Eisteddfod Council conducted Eisteddfodau in North Queensland.
1948: This committee established a sub-committee to conduct an Eisteddfod specifically for performance artists under 18 years of age.
1949: In order to establish a financial base for the eisteddfod, an auxiliary committee canvassed businesses in town for advertisements, trophies and donations. Members of this committee literally walked the streets of Townsville visiting every business house to collect donations. They also ran Garden Parties, Cake Stalls, Concerts and Raffles.
1950: An independent committee, known as the “Townsville Juvenile Eisteddfod Committee” was formed. It took place over 6 days, in 1 theatre using 3 adjudicators. In 1950, a programme cost 1 Shilling (about 10c).
1955: The Townsville City Council helped by charging reduced rental rates for the Theatre Royal and later offered a sizeable donation. Enough money had been accumulated to invest in a fixed deposit.
1975: The Wintergarden Theatre ceased operations completely because of dangerous wiring and, as a result, the committee, with the Townsville Arts Council, renovated the stage area of the Arts Centre to use as a performance venue for a few years.
1967: The Waterside Workers Hall burnt down and a new venue had to be found.
1978: The Civic Theatre opened.
1985: The committee entered the age of technology and Rod Prior formulated a computer program.
1997: The word “Juvenile” was dropped from the name.
2006: Our first website was created by Coralie Hinds.
2009: Jeff Nielsen redesigned the website to take advantage of new browser technology and set up a system to publish results of each section
2012: A completely new database system was designed by IT professional Aaron Nielsen
2022: Stardom Performing Arts Competitions took over the database and paper entries were replaced byon-line entries.
2024: Reports transitioned from paper to digital via Stardom.
2025: We celebrated the 75th Eisteddfod using 3 venues, 12 adjudicators and was held over 21 days. Financial support from various corporate bodies assisted us to remain financially viable. Our major sponsors were Townsville City Council, Glencore & Yamaha Australia (The Keyboard Shop).
After the introduction of Television, there was a time when the committee struggled to sustain the competition. The support of the City Council and the work of the many volunteers ensured the continuance of the movement.
Many different venues have been used over the years including the Theatre Royal, the Wintergarden Theatre, the Arts Centre, the University Refectory (Pimlico), the Women’s Club Rooms, the Presbyterian Church Hall, the Odeon Theatre, the Waterside Workers Hall, Pirani Hall, the Pimlico Performing Arts Centre and Ignatius Park Hall, Choral Society Hall, Townsville Stadium and the Townsville Civic Theatre,
Many of the young performers have gone on to successful and, in some cases, international careers, including Kurt Phelan, Ebony Buckle, Harriet and Madeline Dyer, Emmanuel and Isobel Reynaud, Bradley Newman, Shannon Foley, Siobhan Patrick, Ryan Daniel, David Wakeham, Janette Mulligan, Natalie Weir, Jane Pirani, Robert Keane & Zai Calliste to name a few.
The Townsville Eisteddfod committee aims to continue offering young performers the opportunity to experience the development of artistic skills in their art form through the discipline of preparation and the excitement of performance.