Camels, donkeys and mules in harness pulling an array of wagons and a Cobb & Co coach will compete for the prestigious teamster’s trophies in a spectacle rarely seen in modern Australia at The Good Old Days Festival at Barellan on October 5-6.
Organised by the Barellan Working Clydesdales committee, the festival will comprise a full program of authentic heritage events, a Furphy Festival, camp oven dinner under the stars with entertainment by country band, The Bushwackers, Tribute to the Teams grand parade and the famous Barellan Clydesdales team.
Visitors will be able to see horse, bullock, camel, donkey, mules and goats in harness, an Australian Light Horse display, camel races, blade shearing, butter churning, working dogs, blacksmith, log snigging, rope turning, sheaf tossing, dog jump, old fashioned children’s games, bush poetry, scone making, billy boiling competition, market stalls and the grand parade.
Master horsemen Bruce Bandy, Barellan, Steve Johnson, Lake Cargelligo, and Aleks Berzins, Exeter, will drive a composite team of more than 30 heavy horses pulling a wool wagon around the arena.
They will be joined by cameleers Rod Sansom, Salt Ash, NSW, and Chris Hill, Uluru, NT, bullockies Ron McKinnon and Darcy Quinn, Nowra, and Philip Thomson, Numinbah Valley, and their teams; a donkey team driven by Emily Parrott, Anna Bay NSW, a mule team driven by Noel Wiltshire and Barellan farmer David Irvin with his vintage tractor pulling a Furphy water cart train.
A highlight this year will be the Perpetual Teamsters Trophy presented by Tim Peel, Borambola, NSW, and being a model of a Bennett wagon crafted by Allan Langfield, Wagga Wagga. The trophy is awarded on a rotational basis to a different species of draught animal each year and acknowledges their contribution to the building of the nation.
The camel teams will compete this year for the trophy, including a five camel team pulling a Cobb & Co coach.
Donkeys and mule teams will be ridden, under pack, snigging logs, ploughing and long reining with talks and demonstrations for visitors. The teams will also compete for the Little Teamsters trophy to be judged and presented on Sunday, October 6.
The popular additions to the program will be back – Meet the Teamster with the horse, bullock, camel and donkey teamsters in a Q&A session, an obstacle course for heavy horses and their handlers, the Norma Zingel Memorial Trophy for the champion draught animals in a single furrow plough and the QPL Rural-McGrath Riverina Billy Boiling Championships.
New this year will be a display of British and Australian World War I horse drawn vehicles, period tents and a field kitchen by members of the 18th Battalion Living History Group from Sydney. The display will be adjacent to the Riverina Light Horse display of a World War I encampment.
The Outback Stockman, Lachie Cossor, from the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame at Longreach, will keep visitors entertained with his singing, whip cracking and animals at liberty show each day.
Barellan Working Clydesdales Committee secretary Fiona Kibble said the festival volunteers were excited to be planning for an event which will see the most experienced teamsters in the country assemble at Barellan to showcase horses, camels, donkeys, mules, and goats hauling wagons, binders, headers, ploughs, carts, buggies, sleds, sulkies and a mallee roller.
“We are working hard to increase the visitor experience with an enhanced program plus the standing favourites to underpin what is the Narrandera Shire’s biggest tourism event,” Ms Kibble said.
“This year we look forward to welcoming visitors from all corners of the country in what is a huge economic injection for our small town and regional economy.”
The Barellan Working Clydesdales committee was recently named as the NSW Volunteer Team of the Year for the Riverina and will attend the state awards in December in Sydney.
The major sponsors for 2024 include AGnVET, QPL Rural-McGrath Riverina, Jerilderie Tyre Service, CK Crane Hire and Watertek. Bookings can be made for gate entry and camping via the website www.barellanclydesdales.com.au.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 3 October 2024.
