All roads lead to Casterton for muster

Working dogs in the spotlight on the June Long Weekend

What started as a working dog auction in 1997 at the Casterton Saleyards, with bids being taken from the back of a ute, has become Australia’s premier working dog auction and one of Australia’s most unique community events and the Australian Kelpie Muster is returning to the annual calendar with a vengeance this June Long Weekend for the 27th time.

Casterton is the birthplace of the kelpie and of the promotional work the town does honouring the place of the working dog in Australian folklore and the continued importance of the kelpie on Australian properties today, the Kelpie Muster is the pinnacle of that promotion.

All the usual favourites will be part of the 2023 program but Casterton Kelpie Association president Karen Stephens said there are a couple of new facets to this Long Weekend’s activities. Inspired by a donated painting by Tess Dodds, the 2023 Australian Kelpie Muster will be using the event as a fundraiser for Dolly’s Dream.

“We are going to auction a painting that was given to us,” Karen said. “It is a painting of a kelpie in a denim shirt and wearing an Akubra and was given to us by the artist to do with as we wished. “The blue denim shirt just reminded me of the blue of Dolly’s Dream and it seemed like a good time to try and get involved with that charity.

“We figured it would get younger people involved and raise some money for mental health and education around bullying – we all know how important that is.” The other new partnership is with Geelong College with a Junior Handler Competition added to the usual kelpie dash and high jump.

This event is for children aged 16 years & under and their kelpie companion with entries closing on June 2 with more details available at https://www.trybooking.com/ CHZZP “We really want to encourage our young farming kids to get involved and sponsoring an event like this is part of Geelong College’s charter,” Karen said.

The event has continued its association with naming rights sponsor Eukanuba, who came on board for the 2022 event.

As it always is, the Working Dog Auction is the centrepiece of the weekend, with more than 60 dogs on offer, with a good cross section of ages, with purchasers able to be involved in person, at Island Park, or through AuctionsPlus online platform.

Demonstrations will begin at 9.30am on June 11 with the auction from 3pm.

The Kelpie Festival has also grown in stature for the almost three decades it has been running, from the Poets Breakfast to the Street Parade, from the Stockman’s Challenge to the Kelpie Acquisitive Art Exhibition, the town is immersed in all things kelpie for two days.

The Street Parade starts at 10am on Saturday, while the Kelpie Acquisitive Art Exhibition launch kicks off the weekend with the Thursday night function from 6pm at the Casterton Town Hall.

The Kelpie Dash, Hill Climb and High Jump also remain some of the most popular spectator events of the weekend.

For all details of the weekend and to keep up to date head to www.castertonkelpieassociation. com.au and facebook