He sleeps in a warm and comfy swag on a floor made of asphalt. A few shirts hang by the plywood walls, and overhead, a fluorescent light brightens the room – for every minute of the night.

A couple of suitcases sit next to the swag, and a note on the door lays down the ground rules, including "No smoking," "No cooking," and "No mischievous behaviour".

Welcome to the "five-star" lodgings of Victorian farmer Brian Keirl​ at the Melbourne Showgrounds. It's a space that's big enough to swing a cat – but only just.

It's after 10pm on Thursday, the ferris wheel has stopped turning, the ghost train is quiet and eerie, and the overhyped children – as well as the exhausted ones – are long gone.

But the Melbourne Showgrounds is anything but deserted, particularly in the livestock pavilion, where fresh manure is being scooped out of stalls, hay bales are being carried by forklifts and people of all ages are mingling and discussing cattle.

Sunday will be Mr Keirl's sixth and final night of sleeping in a hired "locker" at the Showgrounds this Royal Melbourne Show. He's been doing it for about 20 years and enjoys it immensely, but says that for some reason he can't convince his wife to come up from the farm at Connewarre, near Barwon Heads, to stay on the floor with him.

"My wife thinks I'm mad ... I keep telling her it's five-star, but she's not believing it," he says.

Stud cattle breeder Brian Keirl in his humble quarters after hours at the livestock pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds. Photo: Chris Hopkins

Asked to rate his quarters, which he admits gets "a bit of road noise," the 60-year-old stud bull breeder is effusive. "Ten out of 10 as far as I'm concerned. As long as I've got a nice warm bed to sleep in, I'm not too fussed. We've got our hanging space, or wardrobe, whichever you want to call it."

The camaraderie among the cattle exhibitors – catching up with old friends, and helping the young people learn more about caring for cattle, for instance – is an important drawcard of the Show for Mr Keirl.

And our night-time tour of the livestock pavilion proves there are plenty of people to talk to, long after the Showgrounds gates close at 9pm. "Probably 200 cattle people stay here each night," he says.

"I'll still be doing it as they're about to bury me. They'll be dragging me out of a cattle shed somewhere," he says, when asked how long he intends to keep exhibiting at the Show and staying overnight.

Like the cattle exhibitors, many horse exhibitors also sleep at the Showgrounds. When The Sunday Age speaks to Nathan Burgess and Lucy Buffon, as they sit near the clydesdales, at least one of the clydeys gives a few hefty kicks to a stable wall.

Nathan Burgess and Lucy Buffon (seated) enjoy an after-work beer with Andrew and Claire Marriott in the clydesdale pavilion. Photo: Chris Hopkins

Away from the cattle and the horses, out in the grounds, there is also plenty of night-time activity. A group of cleaners picks up rubbish near the main arena, carnival operators perform late-night maintenance and in the Korean Fried Chicken truck Max Porritt is knocking ice out of a frozen fridge.

Far away from the livestock pavilion, Steve Kimonides arrives in the Showgrounds at about 11.30. It's his turn on nightshift at the Burn City Smokers food stall, his second ever night at the Show.

He has to light, operate and maintain a "barbecue pit smoker", a giant cooker that resembles a steam train engine. It is used to cook brisket for about nine or 10 hours overnight, meat which is then used in hamburgers proving very popular with showgoers.

Steve Kimonides starts the smoking process of cooking brisket at the Melbourne Showgrounds. Photo: Chris Hopkins

Mr Kimonides' nightshift is labour intensive. He rubs the meat with salt and pepper before it goes into the cooker, feeds the fire with redgum wood, and carefully regulates the cooker to keep the temperature at about 220 degrees fahrenheit (the smoker has an Imperial temperature gauge).

He admits he doesn't get much sleep, but says the nightshift does have some advantages. "It's a nice difference in perspective from the days, where you get the crowd rush and the energy of the crowd," he says. "There's something really nice about the calmness. A bit of the urgency is out of everything that you do."

Show Highlights for Sunday 

• Shear a sheep 12.30pm and 4pm
• Working dogs show 10.30am and 2pm
• Fireworks 8.10pm
• Motorcross stunt show 1.15pm and 7.15pm
• Winning Tastes Pavilion – open 10am-6pm