October 7, 2014
Nanango was the place to be on Saturday with huge markets, a race meeting, the King and Queen of the Mountain foot races plus the annual Heritage Mardi Gras Festival.
This year’s Mardi Gras was shifted forward a week to coincide with the South Burnett & Cherbourg On Show long weekend promotion.
It was also moved later in the day to allow spectators to visit the markets in the morning as well as take in the Heritage Mardi Gras Cup race meeting.
It all made for a very busy Saturday in Nanango …
The changes may have confused some people but even so, a reasonable crowd turned out to watch the start of the King of the Mountain footrace.
Numbers then steadily built up as the time for the street parade drew close.
The parade was led by Mardi Gras princess Richelle Bethke in a white Ford Mustang.
She was followed by pipers, Army Cadets, soccer players and lots of interesting motor vehicles.
The focus of the entertainment then shifted to Pioneer Park where there were stalls, rides and live music topped off by fireworks.
- Related article: Jockey Injured At Races
[Photos by Clive Lowe Photography and South Burnett Online]
King & Queen Of The Mountain
There were some familiar faces on the winners’ dais after the running of the traditional King and Queen Of The Mountain footraces.
Like the parade, the races were also shifted to the afternoon, but the change didn’t seem to effect the times that were recorded.
2014 “King” is Andrew Cross, from Nanango, who won in a time of 9 min 07 sec. Cross was runner-up in both 2012 and 2013.
Katinka Von Elsner-Wellsteed, who was Princess of the Mountain in the past two years, won Queen of the Mountain.
Katinka formerly lived in the South Burnett but relocated to Brisbane this year so she could attend school at Sheldon College, Australia’s first designated “Triathlon School of Excellence”.
Another “old face” was Nanango runner Robert Andress, who won the Veterans class in the King of the Mountain. This was Robert’s 30th King of the Mountain event.
An innovation in the competition this year was the “Litlin Dash”, races for children aged 7-8 (400m), 9-10 (800m) and 11-12 (1000m).
Mardi Gras Parade
Winners:
- Humorous – The Flying Peanut (Endeavour Foundation)
- Schools – There were no schools so prize went to the Cadets
- Farming – Panthers Soccer Club
Overall:
- 1. Gas Guzzlers
- 2. Waterhole Rocks