The Bundaberg Railway Picnic will be back for Australia Day 2021 with the event named as the official Bundaberg Regional Council celebrations.
The event, to be held on January 26 2021, will allow residents to step back in time to the days of the Bundaberg Railway Picnic.
Held for the first time this year at Nielson Park, the Rotary Club of Bundaberg City Daybreak successfully applied to host Council’s Australia Day Celebrations to ensure the popular event returned.
Mayor Jack Dempsey thanked the Rotary Club for once again nominating to deliver the event which had proven so popular.
“Australia Day is a wonderful time for our community to come together and celebrate and what better way to do that than by reconnecting with our past at one of our world class beaches,” Mayor Dempsey said.
“While this event will look a little different as Rotary adapts the event to meet COVID restrictions we know that if everyone follows the club’s COVID safe instructions we can stay safe while still enjoying this special day.
“The Bundaberg Railway Picnic is such a colourful and interesting aspect of the region’s history.
“Between the sand and the surf and the activities that Rotary has planned this event will have something for everyone.”
The Bundaberg Railway Picnic was an annual event held in Nielson Park from 1922.
It was originally only held for railway workers and their families before later being opened up to the general public.
In the early days most people would catch the steam train to Nielson Park and spend the day at the beach enjoying the activities on offer.
Rotary Club of Bundaberg City Daybreak President Dave Facer said it would be a pleasure to once again host an Australia Day Bundaberg Railway Picnic.
“We loved the event this year and the feedback was very positive from those who attended,” Dave said.
“What better place to celebrate Australia Day than at the beach with our iconic surf lifesavers and embracing the role that Nielson Park has held throughout the years.
“This is a great opportunity for our Rotary Club to engage with community and celebrate Australia Day and we are thrilled to be able to host this free celebration again in 2021.”
congratulations for hosting such a great memory, a true icon event held annually, which the whole of Bundaberg and district waited for. I was the last winner of the railway cup, being an old prune tin, but I was gifted with an icecream cake as well. The old shed used for this event was built by the Woongarra Shire Council. This structure was then demolished by the Bundaberg city council as being unsafe.