The country’s quirkiest race, the Australian Dunny Derby will be welcoming back competitors from every corner of Australia for the first time in 4 years this September. The small town of Winton is preparing to host predicted record crowds since the Outback Festival first started in 1972.

The race is on to claim the golden porcelain throne in Winton at the famous Quilton Australian Dunny Derby. Grey nomads, families and athletes are expected to roll into Winton for the 27th anniversary of the festival underway from 19 – 23 September.

Two years in the making, Winton’s Outback Festival will celebrate all things Aussie outback with a 5-day jampacked program with no shortage of activities for little swaggies to the young at heart over the September school holidays.

The iconic Dunny Derby will see competitors get down to business with 20 outhouses on wheels set to lineup at the starting blocks to race the 200-metre course of obstacles vying for the golden throne and a flush of cash.

Festival Co-ordinator Robyn Stephens OAM said, "It's great to see the excitement across Winton really starting to build as we prepare to roll out the welcome mat, especially for our hilarious Quilton Australian Dunny Derby,"

"We've got festival-goers from every state of Australia who have been eagerly waiting to whip out to Winton for the festival, and this is predicted to be our biggest yet, swelling the town’s population by more than 5 times the size.

"We're looking forward to seeing the competitive and outback spirit ignite this September from our SOLD OUT True Blue Aussie Sports competition, to the thrones of racing outback outhouses to our gruelling 5-day Outback Iron Man and Woman Challenge with a distinctly Outback twist," Stephens added.

Day One will see the start of the week-long Outback Iron Man and Woman challenges, where competitors will put not only their physical but also mental strength to the test, battling it out over a series of gruelling events. Other competitors will challenge themselves in the Western River Run and Outback Century Cycle Challenge.

For the less serious, 250 competitors will take on the full-day True Blue Aussie Sports Competition across the towns watering holes including pool, bowls, cow pat discus and the Troo Bloo Roo Poo final.

For the smaller outback champions, the Little Swaggies events and Outback Iron Juniors challenge will run throughout the week alongside Whip Cracking Championships, Swag Throwing, Wool Bale Rolling and Bushman’s Egg Throwing.

Visitors can start their morning with a belly full of laughs at the popular Bush Poet’s Breakfasts, dance the night away under the outback stars at the Sunset Gala Charity Dinner in partnership with the Royal Flying Doctors Service or see the town in an explosion of colour at the Grand Festival Parade.

The 2023 festival features a bumper lineup of live music including rock legends Dragon headlining the Dunny Derby Concert alongside country artist Ben Ransom on Friday 22 September.  Fans of the Man in Black won’t want to miss the Johnny Cash Special Show on the festival opening night, featuring some of the greatest hits of this iconic artist. Throughout the week the lineup includes free performances fit for the whole family from multi–Golden Guitar winner Kirsty Lee Akers, Wade Forster, Matt Angell and Tim Griffin. The Australian Eagles will close the festival at the Festival Finale and Fireworks Spectaular on Saturday 23 September.

“There really is no better way to see Outback Queensland than with a road trip to celebrate Winton’s famous Outback Festival,” Stephens added.

Winton is located in the heart of Outback Queensland, within a cooee of Longreach and Mount Isa, and was voted Queensland’s favourite Top Tiny Tourism Town in 2022 and 2023.

Last minute festival camping, passes and tickets on sale: outbackfestival.com.au