One of Australia’s most celebrated actresses, Paula Duncan, has been named as the ambassador of the Golden Horseshoes Festival in Beechworth over the Easter weekend.
Paula, who is known and loved for roles in The Young Doctors, Cop Shop and Prisoner will be in Beechworth for the festival from Good Friday to Easter Monday and will be the announcer at Easter Saturday’s Grand Parade along with Beechworth’s own Lazy Harry.
Paula and Lazy Harry will comment on more than 50 floats parading through Beechworth past the 150-year-old Star Hotel.
“We are thrilled to have Paula as the ambassador of the festival,” Indigo Shire Economic Development and Tourism Manager Seane Pieper said.
“Paula loves Beechworth. She has been visiting and shopping here for a number of years and sees it as one of the most rich, eclectic and dynamic places in Victoria.”
The Grand Parade will feature a fantastic array of floats including the spectacular Chinese Lion and Dragon team float, Dorothy the Dinosaur and the very entertaining mobile theatre “Feet Bus”.
Some other floats to watch out for include:
• The re-enactment of Daniel Cameron’s ride through the streets of Beechworth in 1855 on a horse shod in golden horseshoes. Beechworth Gold made real gold horseshoes in 2001 for the 150th anniversary of gold being found in Beechworth. For the first time since that event, the horse in this year’s parade will be wearing those genuine 9 carat gold shoes – worth a whopping $20,000! Festival-goers can also watch farrier Robert Bremner shoe the horse just before the parade at 10.30am Saturday.
• A celebration of the 1935 great wheelbarrow marathon with descendants of the original men involved. In 1935 Beechworth mechanic Tom Parkinson said he could push a man to the top of Mt Buffalo in a wheelbarrow. The Beechworth publican Tony Evans said it couldn’t be done. So the pair set off to test the theory. Their journey made them celebrities, with the successful push to the top of the mountain along loose gravel roads and through snow attracting national media attention. In this year’s parade, descendants of both men will parade down the street in a wheelbarrow especially made by a descendant of the original wheelbarrow maker!
• The History of Robert O’Hara Burke float celebrating 151 years since his arrival in Beechworth as Officer in Charge of Police. Burke was stationed at Beechworth until 1859, just before his 1860 expedition with Wills to cross Australia South to North.
The festival will be packed with family fun events all weekend. There will be children’s games and activities, a fun run, buskers, markets, a fantastic food court, a vintage and classic car display, guided town walking tours and much more!
The Beechworth Sweet Company Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday will also be an “eggstra” special event with treasures for young and old. The children’s Easter Egg hunt will run at 9.30am on Easter Sunday and will be followed by an all-ages hunt at 10am with a real golden egg up for grabs! Beechworth Gold has made the special egg worth $2000.
For more information about the festival and program of events contact Beechworth Visitor Information Centre on 1300 366 321 or visit www.beechworthonline.com.au.
