Bendigo Easter Festival

The tradition & historical record

The Bendigo Easter Festival, also known as the Bendigo Easter Fair, is an annual event held in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, since 1871 with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival includes the Easter procession which sees Dai Gum Loong, the world's longest imperial dragon, dance through the streets along with An extensive program of activities and attractions such as an Easter Egg hunt. ¹

On 1 January 1871 discussion was held at the Shamrock Hotel regarding a fundraiser for the Bendigo Hospital and Benevolent Asylum. Representatives from the hospital, asylum and various friendly societies such as the St. Andrews Society, the Irish Australian Society, the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity (MUIOOF), and Independent Order of Rechabites were in attendance. At the time Bendigo was known as the Borough of Sandhurst. Mr. William Heffernan, licensee of the hotel, suggested a fair based loosely on the Donnybrook Fair of Dublin, Ireland which ran from 1204 until about 1868. He also offered the use of a room for meetings and £10 to kick off the fundraising effort. Heffernan and his business partner Mr. Hadley had previously established and run an Easter sports carnival in 1869 and 1870 known as the Sandhurst Easter Holiday Sports. The Easter Fair was initially known by several names, but by 1880 it was generally referred to as the Bendigo Easter Fair. The first Easter Fair was held on 10–11 April 1871. Originally it was held at the lower end of Pall Mall around the current site of the Conservatory Gardens and lower Rosalind Park, later moving to the old showgrounds, now the Tom Flood Sports Centre. The first Easter Fair raised £2560 (£1280 for each institution) through admissions fees. In its first 21 years the event raised £23,000 for the hospital and asylum (some $3 million dollars in 2020). ¹

The first parade assembled at Market Square. It then moved to the railway station to receive the governor, proceeded down Mitchell Street, along Pall Mall to Mundy Street, up Mundy Street to Hargreaves Street, along to Williamson Street and dispersed at the Shamrock Hotel. The first procession featured the following: ¹

Grand Marshall, Mr. John Stewart Esq. Governor of Victoria, John Manners-Sutton Mayor and councillors of Sandhurst and Eaglehawk Members of the mining, shire, and roads boards and hospital and asylum committees Societies such as the St. Andrews Society, Irish Australian Society, Deutscher Verein (German Society), Rechabites, MUIOOF, and Grand United Order of Oddfellows (GUOOF) Cavalry Fire brigade Music — bands and pipers The Easter Fair Society The Easter Fair Committee was initially elected annually at community meetings. The results were published after each Easter, following which the committee stood down and a new committee was elected the next year, often chaired by the mayor. In 1926 a permanent body to be known as the Bendigo Easter Fair Society was established. It was to be made up of 18 executive members — 3 representatives of the city of Bendigo, including the mayor, 2 from the borough of Eaglehawk, 2 from the benevolent asylum, 2 from the hospital and 9 from the community elected at the annual general meeting. It was also decided that the funds raised would be distributed 60% to the hospital and 40% to the asylum. The society was later to become a company in 1966 and an incorporated association in 1984. The society had ultimate control of the fair's operations until 2003 when insurance costs made it financially nonviable to continue. ¹

In 1893 The Weekly Advertiser described a procession which included a large and colourful Chinese section that delighted crowds. Since that time, the Chinese community has been an integral part of the festival. The procession features upwards of 100 floats entered by local community groups, schools, emergency services and businesses. The procession traditionally ends with the large Chinese section, which has grown to showcase over one thousand elements and participants. Chinese cultural groups from Bendigo and Melbourne participate in the parade, demonstrating lion and dragon dances. Traditionally the procession was held on Easter Monday, but since 2011, when it clashed with Anzac Day, it has been held on Easter Sunday. A team of radio-equipped marshals was established in 1978 for the purpose of improving entry movements and reducing parade gaps. By the early 1990s, it had evolved into a separate, incorporated entity known as the Dragon City Marshals Inc. (DCMs), with a much wider geographical sphere of activity. By 1994 DCMs were assisting many other events around Victoria, including Melbourne's Moomba Festival. ¹

In 1892, large processional dragons became an integral part of the annual parade. The three principal golden dragons are Loong (1892–1970), Sun Loong (1970–2019) and Dai Gum Loong (2019–present), housed at the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo. ¹

The torchlight procession is a nighttime parade which began before 1900. It features local emergency services, with local volunteer and professional fire brigade members marching with flaming brass torches. In recent times the parade has ended at Lake Weeroona where entertainment, activities and fireworks have been held. The torchlight procession is held on Easter Saturday each year. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bendigo Easter Festival”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Bendigo Easter Festival is Australian fair, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²