About Us

The objective of the Pet Expo is to "facilitate responsible pet ownership through education in conjuction with the Community".

In order to educate the community on responsible pet ownership, we run family friendly annual Pet Expos.

The majority of exhibitors (and members of the Association) are small business people or representatives of not-for-profit clubs and organisations or local government.  Although being in existence since 2000, in late 2006 we became incorporated as the 'Top End Pet Expo Inc'.

The Pet Expo's main income source is public donations, with exhibitors who are not members paying a small fee whilst a members annual membership entitles them to free participation in that year's Pet Expo.

History of Pet Expos in Darwin

Darwin's first Pet Expo was held in April 2000.

The Pet Expos are organised by a group of people representing animal clubs, the RSPCA, Darwin and Palmerston Councils, veterinarians and businesses involved in the pet industry.

Following the first successful Pet Expo in the Commercial Hall at the Darwin Showgrounds, they have been held annually in April.

For the next four years, the Pet Expo was held in the Foskey Pavilion, at the Darwin Showgrounds with more recent Pet Expos held at the Marrara Indoor Stadium which has been found, although smaller, to have better acoustics and air-conditioning.  These venues are the only ones suitable for the annual Pet Expo.

As the majority of exhibitors / members of the Association are small business people, the Pet Expo is only held on a Sunday, thereby allowing members to open their own businesses as usual on the preceding Saturday.

Attendances over the past seven years were:

• 2010: 3620
• 2009: 2500
• 2008: 4700
• 2007: 3900
• 2006: 5878 far too crowded
• 2005: 3852 change of venue from Showgrounds to Marrara
• 2004: 4870

Attendance figures collected over the years have shown that the majority of the public attend as a family groups, with approximately 60% being adults.

Last updated: 25 April 2010