All roads led to Casterton

Record crowds flocked to the 2023 Australian Kelpie Muster in Casterton on the King’s Birthday Weekend with organisers thrilled with yet another hugely successful community event.

From the Rotary Art Show to the street parade, from the novelty kelpie events to the centrepiece auction, Casterton Kelpie Association president Karen Stephens described the weekend as ‘massive’.

“It was the biggest crowd we have ever had on Saturday and then we backed that up again on Sunday,” Ms Stephens said.

While the auction did not produce any record breaking prices, it still topped the $300,000 mark with an average price over the 64 quality dogs a touch under $8000.

The top priced dog went under the hammer for $25,000 – that honour going to Ash Caruana with Beloka Rumble (pictured right), while the top priced pup went to 16 week old Beloka Sally, from Paul MacPhail (pictured far right), with a bid of $11,000.

“We knew prices would be down a bit as our auction reflects the downturn in the cattle and sheep markets but all our vendors were really happy and while not all dogs sold at auction, we did clear those few after the auction,” Ms Stephens said.

Over the event’s 27 auctions, the tally is now just under $4million. While Saturday and Sunday are the main days of the Kelpie Muster, the weekend kicked off Thursday night with the announcement of the Casterton Rotary Art Show winners at the Casterton Town Hall with Portland artist Brett Jarrett taking out the top prize for his painting ‘The Next Command’.

Gormans Real Estate prize for portraiture was awarded to Kate Blackmore with Wally and renowned local artist Julie Kent was awarded The Australiana – Your Vision of Rural Australia awarded proudly sponsored by Glenn Howell Optometrist and Leanne Richardson.

The street parade kicks off all the action on Saturday with another fine array of floats heading down the town’s main drag.

The Combined Schools float dedicated to Dolly’s Dream (pictured below right), which was the subject of the weekend’s fundraising was the winning street parade entry as students made signs and walk or rode their way down Henty Street. Second went to Casterton Memorial Hospital and their pink Breast Screen float reminding us all how important it is for regular screenings and third place went to Casterton Playgroup and their BaaBaa Shop and some colourful hairdos.

The highlight of Saturday’s action was the novelty events with 112 competitors taking on the hill climb with Tegan Eagle (pictured below left) going back to back in the high jump with Cooper, clearing an impressive 2.52m well ahead of second placed Sarah Lemasurier’s Cody jumping a 2.44m.

The Dolly’s Dream fundraiser, which was a new addition to the 2023 event, has a tally just over $2500 at the moment with money still coming in and people can still donate via the Dolly’s Dream website and heading to the Casterton kelpie Association link. The platform for the fundraising was the $700 price tag for the donated kelpie painting.

Once again interest in the event was international for both the auction and patrons on the ground with the economic benefits spreading into South Australia with visitors to the Kelpie Muster staying in Mount Gambier and Penola, as well as Hamilton and Portland.

Ms Stephens was also quick to point to the volunteers and community groups that roll up their sleeves and ensure the event is always run smoothly.

“You just cannot run an event like this without the dedicated volunteer base that put their hand up every year,” she said.