Battle at house of dragons
Madison Eastmond, Murray Pioneer
More than 30 armoured local and visiting warriors went to battle at the Mallee Dragons’ newest Barmera ‘Lair’ last weekend.
Hosting 25 medieval fights between five Buhurt teams from around Australia, the Mallee Dragons have officially held their first rookie tournament, Mallee Mayhem, since establishing the sport in the Riverland less than a year ago.
Derived from the Old French term for ‘wallop’, Buhurt is a sport that allows players to dress in a suit of shining armour, champion a blunted weapon, and take part in a group fight in an arena, called a list.
“Buhurt was established in Australia close to eight years ago,” Mallee Dragons president Paul Chandler said.
“Myself and two friends, now members, first saw Buhurt at a Viking Festival in 2023 and thought it looked amazing, and wished we were able to do something similar back home in the Riverland.
“After a while, we just thought, ‘why not do it ourselves’ if we loved the idea so much.”
With the collaboration and support of the Adelaide team Warhound Armoured Combat, who held training sessions for Mallee Dragon members to attend each month, a local team was gradually established.
“We learned the ropes from the state team who have just been amazing to us,” Mr Chandler said.
“By January last year we were running our own training sessions down at Glassey Park, in Berri, and by April we were entering into tournaments as a team.”
Through their own fundraising, hard work, and member support, the Mallee Dragons recently opened their own facility — named ‘The Lair’ — in Barmera.
Placing the finishing touches on the shed, which now provides them the arena space of a ‘list’ to train, early last week, Mr Chandler said the group has reached “their biggest achievement yet”.
“The biggest thing so far is getting our own facility and hosting our first major event, Mallee Mayhem,” he said.
“It is something that will be ongoing, and providing a space — especially as a new and growing team — for newer fighters (locally and) from around the country to compete, train, and continue to learn together.
“We are soon going to host a women’s only training day to make sure we are opening the sport up and making it comfortable for other members to enjoy — we just can’t wait to keep hosting events and build up our team.
“Though we still have a bit to go, it makes me really proud to see how far we have come in such a short amount of time.”
Mr Chandler encouraged anyone interested in the sport to come along, and promised it is “not at all as dangerous as it might seem”.
“So far we have close to 20 registered members, but we are really hoping more people come along and join our team and regularly attend training session,” he said.
“The first session is free and, I guarantee, a lot of fun — the worst wound you might sustain is a bruise.
“All weapons are blunted, and we practice in (foam) kits as purchasing a set of armour can be quite an investment (ranging from $3000 onwards).
“Like any sport, there is always risk of injury, but we have a lot of safety training and respect amongst players.
“However, in Buhurt the moment you hit the ground, the fight is over, and before it starts, each player must be ready.”
While an interest in armour, swords, and ancient combat are a great reason to come along to join the Mallee Dragons, Mr Chandler believes new members are sure to stay given the “amazing culture of Buhurt”.
“The thing that keeps people here is the community that is created,” he said.
“The sport is not about the individual, it’s all about the team and the camaraderie that is formed is really special.
“I have never met a more generous and kinder bunch of people.”
For more information, or to contact the team on membership and location, follow Mallee Dragons Buhurt SA Team on Facebook.
This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 19 March 2025.
