Australian Annual Events
Australia has quite a variety of annual events,
below we have a selection for you, try to see some on your travels
around Australia...
Australia Day
All Aussies get a day of work each year on 26 january
to celebrate the arrival of the First Fleet. It was this day in
1788 when Arthur Philip arrived in Sydney Harbour after a nine month
journey with the first shipment of 770 prisoners in 11 ships and
officially took posession of New South Wales ( the names Sydney
and Australia were not yet thought of at that time) and became Governor.
Therefore the day was also not celebrated as Australia day in years
to follow but 'Foundation Day' although one tradition that will
never change in this country was that "the anniversary
of the foundation of the colony was observed in the traditional
manner with drinking and merriment".
Every state used to celebrate this day as it would see fit until
in 1946, the Commonwealth Government, States and Territories agreed
to observe Australia Day under one banner and on the same day.
It was not until 1994 however, that all the states and territories
endorsed the celebration of Australia Day on the actual day instead
of the closest Monday. United Australia Day celebrations have been
held on 26 January ever since.
To many Aborigines this day means Invasion Day and they see no reason
to celebrate, and on Australia Day 2008 Aborigine Adam Thompson
burned an Australian flag in Tasmania in protest against "the
atrocities committed against my people under the colours of that
flag" as a crowd of about two hundred watched him.
Anzac Day
The famous Anzac Biscuit
(ANZAC =Australian and New Zealand Army Corps)
Aussies also get a day off on 25 April to commemmorate a monumental
military loss in World War One, of no less than 7600 Aussies and
2500 Kiwis at Gallipoli in the south of Turkey when the Poms ( who
also lost 40 000 of their own) had a plan to capture the city of
Istanbul. Unfortunately the beach where they landed was much better
defended and the hills much harder to climb than expected so they
dug in and started exchanging fire until they evacuated the area
again after eight months. As there are not many World War One veterans
left nowadays the day now honours veterans of all wars that Australia
has been involved in, alltogether 102.000 Aussies never made it
home from distant battle fields. Marches are organized through capital
cities and war veterans catch up with old mates and exchange memories
and have a few drinks. In the marches in 2003 some cheats were discovered
who had found or obtained medals without ever having been to any
wars and were joining in the parades but as there are not many veterans
left and they all know eachother they were quickly discovered and
dealt with. In 2005 the Coalition of Patriots for Military Honour,
armed with digital cameras, patrolled the marches to catch out cheats,
and they quickly caught out over a hundred, they also have a website
containing a wall of shame with photos of imposters, but have to
do all this coverts as death threats have been received. This is
also the one day a year when it is legal to play two-up in the streets
which was a traditional favourite game of the soldiers. Not that
it happens much as most people have forgotten how to play it. Should
this game interest you there is a legal gambling den for two-up
just outside the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
that is worth a visit to absorb a bit of local culture.
Birdsville Races, Queensland
Birdsville Hotel
Photo by Alysse Gavlik
Horse race held in September. People fly and drive
in from all over Australia to this remote town 1600 km west of Brisbane
situated on the edge of the Simpson Desert . The local pub The Birdsville
Hotel, built in 1884, does a roaring trade during this event. More
info....
Blokes World Live Expo
Aussie Culture at its best!! This amazing event is
held on October 1 and 2, 2005 at the Queensland raceway in Ipswich
after Brisbane Council wowsers did not want this to take place in
their city. Chicks, tattoos, fast and loud cars, utes, dogs, and
alcohol, all the essential ingredients for a great weekend out.
Entry to 18+ only.
Camel Cup, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
The outback's answer to the Melbourne Cup. Every
year at Alice Springs locals and tourists come together to witness
the annual Camel Cup. This long-running tradition - a fundraiser
for the Lions Club - began in 1970 after a pub bet, but proved so
popular the charity decided to hold it on an annual basis. In 2004
the race became a bit more official when the government of Afghanistan
announced it will sponsor the cup - in recognition of the contribution
of early Afghans to the development of the Australian outback. Also
they will send their ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Mahmoud
Saikal, to present a trophy to the winner of the race. Afghan cameleers
were crucial in major exploration and settling of the remote regins
of Australia between 1860 and 1930. The 34th annual Camel Cup carnival
will was held at Alice Springs' Blatherskite Park with 30 camels
fighting it out in nine races.
Cape Tribulation Boxing Day Billykart Race
Every year on Boxing Day, the locals at Cape
Tribulation gather on Camelot Close to watch the annual Eco
Grand Prix of the north. Restrained only be the rules of no brakes
and no brains competitors roll up with home made billy karts and
get pushed down the steep hill of Camelot Close, reaching spectacular
speeds. The sharp bend just above the entrance to Rainforest
Hideaway often causes maximum mayhem with karts crashing into
eachother. See
a video of the 2003 crash, the
2006 crash, or more photos and info here.
Clean Up Australia Day
This simple idea of Australian builder and solo yachtsman
Ian Kiernan has now become the nation's largest community-based
environmental event in which more than 6 million Australians have
now volunteered their time since 1989 to help make a difference
to their own local environment.
It started out as Clean Up Sydney Harbour Day in 1989 which received
an enormous public response with more than 40,000 Sydneysiders donating
their time and energy to clean up their harbour. Tonnes of rusted
car bodies, plastic , glass bottles and cigarette butts were removed.
The next year Clean Up Australia Day was born. Ian and his committee
believed that if a capital city could be mobilised into action,
then so could the whole nation. Almost 300,000 volunteers turned
out on the first Clean Up Australia Day in 1990 and that involvement
has steadily increased ever since. In the past twelve years, Australians
have devoted more than eight million hours towards the environment
through Clean Up Australia Day and collected over 165,000 tonnes
of rubbish.
Cooktown Festival, North Queensland
Every year in june the town of Cooktown
has a long weekend of festivities that starts with the re-enactment
of the landing of James Cook in Cooktown
in 1770 in which they beached their damaged ship and spent seven
weeks around the area repairing it, in the process also discovering
the kangaroo. Good festival to visit if you like to see some history
and lots of drunk cowboys, bring your own tent or book your accommodation
well in advance. Other exciting events include the discovery Gala
Ball, Jazzmusic, Bull Riding, 4WD and Ute Muster, Amusement Park,
Live Bands and watch on as Cooktown's harbour lights up with spectacular
fireworks, plus so much more. More
on Cooktown...
Darwin's Beercan Regatta, Northern
Territory
In Darwin people tend to drink a few beers resulting
in lots of empty beercans. Once a year the Darwinites get creative
and build all these empties into boats that they race in the annual
Beercan Regatta at Mindil Beach. In the old days before environmental
awareness the day used to finish with a seabattle where everyone
would smash up eachothers boats and mountains of empty beercans
would be scattered all over the ocean.
The Beer Can Regatta is usually held in July / August
, and has now diversified into lots of games and watersports, and
you can now even use softdrink cans to build your boat!
The 34th Annual Beer Can Regatta will be held at
Mindil Beach (Gilruth Ave) on 13 Jul 2008. The all day event starts
at 10am, the Mindil Beach Sunday Market will also be open and entry
is by gold coin donation which will go to charity. If you are interested
in building a boat from beer or softdrink cans, help for construction
can be obtained by contacting the Convenor - email to convenor@beercanregatta.org.au
Darwin to Adelaide World Solar Challenge
Race over 3010 km. by solar powered vehicles, in november
2003 the Dutch team won with their Nuna II covering the 3010 km,
in only 30 hours and 54minutes beating their old record by one hour
and 45 minutes. Australia came second and the U.S. team third.
Dunny Derby, Winton, Queensland
The Great Australian Dunny Derby is held each year
at the end of September in Winton, Queensland, as part of the great
outback festival.
The Dunny Derby involves four people pushing an outhouse on wheels
up and down three lengths of the football ground in Winton. At the
start of the race the jockey must dash to the loo with his undies
down around his ankles then jump aboard. With assistance from the
team, the jockey then jumps in and out of the dunny collecting such
items as bog rolls, newspapers and even a toilet brush.First to
cross the line with all the items is the winner. The competition
consists of 20 dunnies, divided into four heats lined up for this
prestigious event with a total prize fund of $3,000.
Goat Races, Lightning Ridge, New South Wales
Every year at the end of March the locals of the outback
opal mining town of Lightning Ridge get together for the annual
Goat Racing Championships. More
info...
Gold Coast Indy
Be careful crossing the street here in October, the
streets of Surfers Paradise fill with the roar of racing car engines
that do 300 km/hr on a street circuit. There's heaps of family activity
and parties going on tooaround this time. More
info...
Golden Gumboot Festival
The Big Gumboot in Tully
In the small town of Tully, north Queensland, locals
get together once a year for this festival, of which the highlight
is the gumboot throwing competition. The person who can throw a
size 8 gumboot the greatest distance wins. Tully's other claim to
fame is being declared officially the wettest place in Australia
with an annual rainfall of up to seven metres.
Henley on Todd Regatta, Alice Springs, N.T.
This is a race with a difference; the Todd river that
runs through Alice Springs is at this time of year as dry as a Pommy's
bath towel ( Australian expression for very dry) . But with good
old Aussie ingenuity the problem has been solved by having boats
with no bottoms so people are actually running carrying the boats!
Hookers Ball, Darwin, Northern Territory
All ready to hit the hookers ball
Once a year Darby's nightclub in Darwin used to organize
the annual hookers ball where the main condition of entry was that
you were dressed up as a hooker, we have just been informed by some
Darwin residents that is is now held early December at the Discovery
nighclub on Mitchell St. but we are still waiting for some photos....
Humpty Doo's Darwin Stubby Drinking Competition
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The Darwin stubby contains a huge
2 litres of beer, and is a popular souvenir for tourists that
visit Darwin in the Northern Territory.
Its origins date back to the 1950s when the small Carlton
United brewery in Darwin decided to package their beer in
bottles, but they proved so popular that even despite charging
a deposit they hardly ever got their bottles back.
In later years Darwin Stubby drinking competitions were held
in Humpty Doo, a town on the highway from Darwin to Kakadu.
For many years a bull used to win (despite many complaints
from the RSPCA) until several years ago he unfortunately died,
and many other big bellied blokes also gave it their best
to drink the massive two litre bottle in as little time as
possible.
You will find Humpty Doo on the road from Darwin to Kakadu. |
Melbourne Cup
Photo by Rob Lapaer of Rainforest
Hideaway B&B, Cape Tribulation, N.Qld.
The Melbourne Cup inspired the Cape Tribulation locals to run their
version of the Cup on the beach.
On the first tuesday of November the entire country
grinds to a halt when at 15.20 in the afternoon the whole of Australia
focuses on Melbourne when a group of horses thunder down a 3200
metre stretch at the Flemington race track in an effort to win the
Melbourne Cup and billions of dollars in gambling money changes
hands around the country. Most Aussies will take at least half the
day off to place their bets, have plenty to drink and just enjoy
the excuse to stop work for the day because of this event that actually
only runs for about three and a half minutes.
A very popular and easy way of betting on the Cup is the office
sweep where everyone just puts in five dollars and gets allocated
a horse at random with the money being divided between the winner
and the two place getters, this way it does not matter if you don't
know anything about horses or the way the betting works and you
still get the adrenaline rush of hoping to win and have a great
excuse to take time off work to follow the race (with a few drinks
ofcourse).
If you are a tourist traveling in Australia do not expect any mechanic
to fix your car this afternoon, a huge array of services normally
available in a western country will disappear during this day so
it is best to plan ahead, stay put and join in the fun.
The Melbourne Cup is a long time tradition, it has
been running since 1861.
A horse still remembered today is Carbine who ( with a "huge"
66 kg. jockey) ran the distance in a record 3 minutes and 28 seconds
in 1890.
Still his fame is nothing compared to Phar Lap who, out of 51 races
in his career, won 37, one of them the 1931 Melbourne Cup. This
horse gained so much fame that after dying in Mexico his heart was
preserved and is now held at the National Museum in Canberra, his
skeleton in a museum in New Zealand and his stuffed skin in the
museum of Victoria in Melbourne.
Mudcrab Tying (bare foot)
Every year in August the Barefoot Mudcrab Tying competitions
are held in Darwin where contestants have to tie up as many mudcrabs
as possible in a certain time while being barefoot in an enclosure
with the big nippers.
Nimbin's Mardi Grass, New South Wales
The 12th Annual Nimbin "Let It Grow!" Mardi
Grass 2004 will be held on 1 and 2 May, together with the Hemp Olympics
and the Nimbin Cannabis Cup will be raced around that time too.
The now-legendary HEMP Olympix comprises pothead contests around
joint rolling, bong throwing and, for the more physically-minded,
a Growers Ironperson competition. For this contestants pit themselves
against the odds in outlandish tests of strength such as crawling
through lantana tunnels dragging large bags of fertiliser.
Based (very loosely) on the Amsterdam event of the same name, the
Nimbin Cannabis Cup is a nice mellow wrap-up to the heightened chaos
of the previous few days. A rather broad selection of the best local
buds is tasted, toked and tested by a smattering of card-carrying
"expert" judges, eventually choosing a winner. If you
don't make it as a judge however it doesn't really matter. Just
like in Amsterdam, there's so much good pot everywhere that anyone
that does make it to judge status is usually too stoned to tell
anyway.
Nude Surfing Competition, Tasmania
Tasmania is the unlikely home to the the nude surfing
competition at Clifton Beach on December 13 2003, who would go surfing
without a wetsuit in this island just across the water from Antarctica?
Penny farthing world championships
Annual penny farthing world championships
in Evandale, Tasmania
Photo from evandalevillagefair.com
Every year in February, penny farthing enthusiasts
converge on Evandale, Tasmania, from throughout Australia and overseas
to vie for a series of races, held on a triangular circuit in the
centre of the village. First held in 1983, based on an event held
in Tunbridge, Tasmania, in the 1970’s. Over the past 18 years,
Evandale has attracted penny farthing enthusiasts from all states
of Australia and from New Zealand, USA, England, Ireland, Holland,
Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Singapore and Japan. Recognised
internationally as the largest annual event in the world devoted
to racing antique bicycles. The streets of Evandale, Northern Tasmania,
Australia. 20 km south of Launceston, 5km south of Launceston Airport.
Evandale is one of the state’s earlier settlements, with buildings
dating back to the 1820’s. A penny farthing speed race was
also held on the runway of Launceston airport. More
info...
Pine Creek pig and feral cat hunt, Northern Territory
The Wood family, who recently moved from Katherine
to Darwin, won $250 for killing 303 cane toads filling four rubbish
bins. They had been caught over three nights in Katherine by driving
around in a troop carrier with the kids hanging over the side with
golf clubs and a butterfly net and frozen in friends' fridges before
being transported to Pine Creek, 200km south of Darwin. Mr Wood
said the family took up cane toad hunting in 2002 after it became
too dangerous to spear freshwater prawns because of crocodiles.
Raw at Caboolture
In 2005 this nude event is held on 22, 23 and 24 April.
Thousands of nude people dance for three days to the tunes of live
bands and enjoy body painters, performing artists, good food, drinks
and all sorts of things. A security team is present to deal with
any nude party goers that may go too excited. More
info....
Queen's Birthday
Many Poms are surprised to find that Australians get
a day off work on 14 june to celebrate the Queen's birthday! It
is pretty amazing considering in England the Poms have to go to
work on this day like any other day and most Aussies don't even
want the Queen as their head of state! When the referendum was held
on Australia becoming a republic many believe that Aussies voted
against the republic for fear of losing a public holiday! If this
Referendum on 6th November, 1999, had resulted in a 'Yes' vote then
Queen Elizabeth II, of the House of Windsor, would have been retrenched
as Head of State on the 1st January, 2001, The Centenary Of Federation
in Australia.
Remembrance Day
On 11 November all Australians are meant to honour
those who have fallen in World War One with two minutes silence
Rodeo
The Wild West is still alive in Australia, if you
are traveling through outback areas in cattle country you might
be lucky and get there on the annual rodeo where you can see cowboys
riding bucking bulls and horses, we will try to post some approximate
dates here later. More info on the Mount Isa rodeo here...
Running of the bulls, Weipa, North Queensland
Once a year the men of the town of Weipa, a mining
town in the middle of nowhere up the top of the Cape York peninsula
in North Queensland, get together for a lap around the town in the
nude. Though one of the highlights of the year in Weipa it was fairly
unknown in the rest of the world until the rumour spread that American
singer Madonna might join the race, to many people's disappointment
the rumour proved to be false.
This was not the first false rumour to hit North Queensland, one
time the servers of the Port Douglas Tourism website nearly went
up in smoke after the world massively logged on when the rumour
spread that Monica Lewinsky was holidaying in the town.
Schoolies Week, Gold Coast, Queensland
When school finishes thousands of teenagers converge
on the Gold Coast for some serious partying. In recent years the
situation has got out of control a bit, often because of people
joining in that look a bit too old to have just finished school
and police is keeping a very close watch on things now.
Sexpo
Sexpo
is an annual event about anything and everything to do with sex.
Even the Australian Taxation Office had a stall here to try and
convince sex workers to declare their income and pay GST. To make
it even easier for you to visit this event, it is held in Sydney,
Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. Find out when it is on and where
on Sexpo.com.au
Smoke-in
Smoke-in - Held annually since 2002 in
Darwin's Raintree Park but at varying times so for this year's
date check the website of the Network
Against Prohibition (NAPNT) who organizes this annual
event to protest against the Labor government's drug-house
laws and as an expression of human
rights. Activities include a free BBQ, music, speakers and
an open-mike. Anyone who wants to have a say can do so. |
The October 2002 smoke-in.
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Steve Irwin Day
The Irwin's family spokesman John Stainton announced
in 2007 that 15 November had been declared Steve Irwin Day, the
Irwin family was hoping that everyone would take a day off work,
and they hoped that it would even become a national public holiday,
also people were encouraged to wear khaki to work.
The Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said there were no plans to
make November 15 a public holiday, and he doubted Steve himself
would have wanted that much fuss. A few people saw it as just another
ploy to get more crowds to come to the Australia Zoo festivities
and spend money....
Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Annual street parade watched by well over half a million
people that pack Sydney's streets. Gay and lesbian party animals
fly in from all over the world for the celebrations that carry on
for much longer than the actual parade runs. Valuable to the Australian
economy as many of the party goers continue to other parts of the
country too to recover from the hectic festivities in quiter places
and see a bit of Australia. Even places like Cairns where brothels
are not allowed and council went all-out to close a swingers B&B
realize the value of the 'pink dollar' and publish a special 'pink
guide to Cairns' to entice gays into a visit.
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
The annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race starts in Sydney
on 26 December and runs for 630 nautical miles, roundabout 1200
km., to the Tasmanian capital Hobart. The start is always spectacular
and risky as hundreds of other boats steam along to farewell the
racing yachts resulting in many near misses or the occasional collision.
In 1998 the race was hit by a severe storm and out of the 115 boats,
five sank, 66 retired, 55 crewmembers had to be rescued and 6 drowned.
Only hours after the start of the race the Bureau of Meteorology
(BOM) issued a storm warning, but received no answer when phoning
the race committee. They then faxed a warning to the yacht club,
which took some time to get through to the organizers. They were
also slow to act again to pass the warning on and communicate the
severity of the storm, even when the first reports of 75 knot winds
started arriving.
The 2004 race was won by the 27 metre $5 million Nicorette
in 2 days and 16 hours after bad weather forced half the boats of
the 116 strong fleet to abandon the race. This was skipper Ludde
Ingval's second victory in this race. The AAPt came in six hours
later and Brindabella came third.
Tuna tossing
Every year the town of Port Lincoln in South Australia
holds its annual tuna tossing competition. In January 2006 no less
than 85 tossers competed but Steve Hitch, from the Eyre Peninsula,
proved to be the biggest tosser of all when he managed to toss a
dead tuna for the considerable distance of 17.1m and was crowned
the 2006 champion, earning himself $7000.
His nearest competitor Martin Tregoning had tossed a 10kg tuna 17.06m,
but this was still peanuts compared to the effort of former Olympic
hammer thrower Sean Carlin who had proved himself a super tosser
in 1998 by tossing the tuna a whopping 37.23m!!!!!!!!!
Undie 500, Tasmania
Every february the tiny town of Riana, near the town
of Penguin in northwest Tasmania fires up for the Undie 500 race.
Competing Tasmaniacs have to run a 400 metre relay race wearing
their undies over their clothing Superman style.
(Due to the local climate a running of the bulls like Weipa as described
above seems like a bad idea.)
World lizard racing championships, Eulo, West Qld
Every year in August the world lizard racing championships
are held on the famous 'Paroo Track' in Eulo, which is only a one-pub,
one-general store town and found 64 km west of Cunnamulla and 887
km west of Brisbane. If you're in the area go and watch the races
and send us some pics.
You know of a good annual event? Then contact us!
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