Pat's Uninteresting Tours was a series of themed route bus tours that offered an alternative to the usual sightseeing tours. Taking passengers on a four-hour comedy excursion to downmarket locations it operated in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia during the mid to late 1980s. The premise was to conduct paying passengers on a bus and expose them to ordinary situations in incongruous contexts - actively avoiding normal tourist attractions and visiting uninteresting sites. These included

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

at a

rubbish tip A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

, "experiencing fresh air" at the

sewage works Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

and formal dinner at a road-side

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

. Passengers were encouraged to dress in tourist garb for the day tours and tacky evening wear for night tours. After

TV New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solom ...

program ''

That's Fairly Interesting ''That's Fairly Interesting'' was a New Zealand TV series showcasing quirky people and events. Its title was reference to the American show ''That's Incredible!''. The Company that produced the programme was Communicado - owned by Neil Roberts, Mu ...

'' recorded a segment, tours were conducted in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

and later

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Beginnings

Patrick McGeown created the concept in 1978 whilst serving on board the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

warship HMAS ''Perth''. After repeated trips to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, he began to lead alternative sightseeing events for other crewmates. Following the inaugural tour he then conducted tours in Darwin and

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

before launching the concept as a business in Sydney on 17 March 1985.

Destinations

Each tour was unique and the four hours of improvisation and creativity took passengers to an assortment of locations.David Conley "Oh, so bored - that's what you get when you go touring with Patrick"

Gold Coast Bulletin The ''Gold Coast Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper serving Australia's Gold Coast region. It is published as ''The Gold Coast Bulletin'' on weekdays and the ''Weekend Bulletin'' at weekends. It is owned by News Corp Australia. History The n ...

12 July 1986 Some Sydney locations were: * Various industry by day/night * Eastern Suburbs Crematorium *

Long Bay Gaol The Long Bay Correctional Complex, commonly called Long Bay, is a correctional facility comprising a heritage-listed maximum and minimum security prison for males and females and a hospital to treat prisoners, psychiatric cases and remandees, loc ...

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

Sewerage Treatment Works * Kings Cross

red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

to sing Christmas Carols at

El Alamein Fountain The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is a heritage-listed fountain and war memorial located at Macleay Street in the inner Sydney locale of Kings Cross in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by ...

* Downmarket pub * Rubbish tip * Traffic roundabout *

Venereal Disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

clinic *

Macdonaldtown railway station Macdonaldtown railway station is located on the Main Suburban line, serving the Sydney suburb of Eveleigh. It is served by Sydney Trains T2 Inner West & Leppington line services. History The original Macdonaldtown station opened in 1878 at a ...

* The city morgue

References

{{reflist Other media references: * Fred Baker - Benelong "Perhaps it's another Pink Elephant"

The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney) ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is an Australian tabloid newspaper, the separately published Sunday edition of ''The Daily Telegraph''. It is available throughout Sydney, across most of regional and remote New South Wales, the Australian Capital Terr ...

, 20 March 1983 * Denise Shaw "Madcap Pat Bores Up Tourists" The Truth (newspaper), 27 July 1985 p. 3. * John Elliot "Tedious Tours" Australian

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

January 1986 * Judy O'Connor "Miracle of Turning Boredom into Cash"

The Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...

Christchurch, 25 February 1988 p. 13. * '' Willesee'' Channel 9 television. 27 March 1985. Reported by Howard Gipps.

External links

* Pat McGeown's description a
his blog
* Article on Pat McGeown a

* Listing attributing "Flash Mobs" to Pat's Uninteresting Tour
via on-line Australian Dictionary
* Video from ''

'', New Zealand Television - July 198
via YouTube
* Video from ''Willesee'' programme, 198
via the Internet Archive
Tourism in Sydney Comedy tours