Donkey, mule and camel teams compete for coveted trophy
in authentic pioneering spectacle at Good Old Days Festival
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 in southern NSW on October 5-6, 2024.
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.
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.
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.
