Winton's Outback Festival has once again lived up to its reputation as Australia's quirkiest festival with record visitor numbers flocking to the tiny Outback Queensland town of Winton for its uniquely Aussie Sports. 

Crowds were kept on the edge of their loo seats for the Quilton Australian Dunny Derby to see the 2023 champions of the golden porcelain throne crowned as the ‘Wilderpiss Explorers’ beat out the ‘Nutcrackers’, jockeyed by Winton's very own Mayor Gavin Baskett, by only centimetres. 

The hilarious competition saw 21 outhouses on wheels get down to business as the sunset on Friday 22nd September to race the 200-metre course of obstacles in hot conditions vying for the National title of Australia’s Fastest Dunny, a tribute to the humble outhouse, ‘dunny’ and ‘thunderbox’.

Teams from across Australia including ‘Flushdance’, ‘Tina Turders’, ‘Swan Leak’ and ‘Dolly Pharton’, had been in training for two years vying to clean up the field across the 5-race showdown. Brisbane’s ‘Strictly Bathroom’ danced their way on the racetrack into the crowd favourite award.

Festival Coordinator, Robyn Stephens OAM explains, “The Quilton Australian Dunny Derby attracts all kinds of dressed-up dunnies and their jockeys and they take so much pride in racing these loos, you’ve got to see it to believe it.”

The town of 800 residents, known as Australia’s Dinosaur Capital, home of Waltzing Matilda and birthplace of Qantas saw upwards of 5,000 visitors book out motels, camping grounds and pubs for the biennial event which started back in 1972. The festival celebrates all things Aussie outback over a 5-day jampacked program with no shortage of activities for little swaggies to the young at heart.

Robyn Stephens OAM added, “The Outback Festival is all about having fun and bringing people into the outback for over 40 events over 5 days of enjoyment."