The idea of South Australia hosting an international exhibition as a patriotic gesture was promoted in the early 1880s, culminating in a Bill which was passed by Parliament in 1883.

The cost of running the Exhibition, expected to be met by entrance fees, was underwritten by a handful of wealthy guarantors,[2] including pastoralist Clement Sabine.

The formal opening ceremony took place on 21 June 1887 and began, after a prayer by Bishop Kennion and a performance of the Exhibition Cantata (George Herbert Cossins / Edward R. G. W. Andrews), with an address by Sir Edwin Smith, the Vice-President of the South Australian Commission, presenting to the President, the Governor Sir William Robinson with a golden master key to the Building, all the locks having been donated by Chubb & Co.

[11] A wide range of awards included: Costs of running the Exhibition, not counting capital works, were more than covered by gate takings and other receipts, a tribute to the Committee's organisation, but also to the patriotic fervour of the times.

John Neild began to encounter difficulties in his political career towards the end of the 1880s; criticism of his oversight of the establishment of the Exhibition led to investigation by a Legislative Assembly select committee, but he was exonerated.