EPIC COWBOY HAKA performed last night by the New Zealand Indigenous Rodeo Team at Mount Isa Rodeo!
VNR (with interviews) HERE
Indigenous Rodeo Championships VNR 2024 on Vimeo
Overnight something truly epic happened in Mount Isa in Outback Queensland – cowboys from the New Zealand Indigenous Rodeo Team performed the powerful HAKA on the red dirt of the world famous Mount Isa Mines Rodeo arena.
The incredible spectacle was part of the first ever Ah One x Church Family Trans-Tasman Indigenous Rodeo Challenge, which was preceded by a moving Welcome to Country and performances by the Sundowners Kalkutungu Dancers and the Komet Torres Strait Islanders art and culture group. THEN it was RODEO TIME – the third Mount Isa Indigenous Rodeo Championships!
The New Zealanders won the Trans-Tasman Rodeo Challenge, beginning what is set to become a new annual across-the-ditch sporting event!
And today, the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo Festival continues with more broncs, bulls, buckles and belts than ever before!
VNR
- Rodeo action from the Indigenous Rodeo Championships
- Behind the Chutes at rodeo
- Incredible opening ceremony
- Welcome to Country
- New Zealand cowboy HAKA
- Interview with Merv Church the NZ team captain
- Interview with Nat Flecker, CEO of Mount Isa Mines Rodeo
- Interview with Australian Indigenous Team Captain, Shilo Gosbee
- Rodeo Concert - Kasey Chambers and Christine Anu
YESTERDAY was the Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships featuring the first ever Trans-Tasman challenge, celebrating two of the greatest Indigenous rodeo families from each side of the famous ditch.
The Ah One x Church Family Trans-Tasman Indigenous Rodeo Challenge will see some of the best cowboys and cowgirls from New Zealand take on the Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo champions on Thursday night. This Bledisloe Buck of rodeo has been created to pay tribute to George Ah One, known as The Carandotta Drover, and his family who walked the legendary CARANDOTTA horses over 200 kilometres from Carandotta Station through to Kalkadoon Park for the annual Mount Isa ROTARY Rodeo in 1959. The family did this for over 20 years, and became revered for their horsemanship, and the bloodline of these horses, because of George’s care, are still viewed as the best rodeo stock in the country. While the Ah One name is legendary in Australian rodeo, the Church family is legendary in New Zealand. This multi-generational Māori rodeo family is the reigning national champions and celebrating these pioneers of indigenous rodeo heritage will create Trans-Tasman rodeo history.
Fresh from taking Gold at the Queensland Tourism Awards and only in its third year, the Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships is looking to again welcome a record crowd and a record number of riders with Australian music royalty in Kasey Chambers and Christine Anu headlining the Rodeo Rock concert.
Natalie Flecker, CEO of Isa Rodeo Limited called on the country to rodeo! “Mount Isa Mines Rodeo is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest rodeo and the third largest rodeo in the world, and this year champions will return to battle for the famous buckles, newcomers will become legends, juniors will rise, eight seconds will seem like a lifetime and the heritage and importance of rodeo in the Outback will be celebrated. But there’s more: riders have come from across the world to literally throw their hats in the ring!” she said.
Mount Isa Rodeo Festival runs through to SUNDAY with tickets still available.
- Captain of the New Zealand Indiegnous team, 29-year old cowboy Merv Church has rodeoed all his life and around the world. He’s the grandson of the godfather of New Zealand Rodeo Mervyn Church and son of Corey Church who won 6 NZRCA All Round titles and his mantlepiece is full of national bull ride buckles. He’s a proud Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa man. He said he’s dreamt of riding at the legendary Mount Isa Rodeo since he was a little boy. “My dad and uncles all talk about Mount Isa Rodeo, everyone talks about riding at this rodeo.” He said it’s been about 20 years since his relatives had ridden at Isa, and he was privileged and humbled to be named captain of the New Zealand team. “It would be the icing on the cake to take home a famous Mount Isa Rodeo buckle (trophy). I’m so privileged to be riding one of Shane Kenny’s (legendary Australian cowboy) horses, which make sit one of the best in the world, and the whole team is so thankful to have incredible horses for this rodeo. We hope this Trans-Tasman Rodeo Challenge can become an annual event.”
RODEO ROPES IN RIDERS AND REVENUE
Millions in economic revenue generated from those famous 8-second rides and more!
There’s something special about the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo that started this week; for 65 years this event has attracted the greatest riders from across the country to compete on the famous red dirt of the Queensland Outback. However, it’s not just the riders it attracts - figures from Tourism and Events Queensland show that Rodeo ropes in significant revenue, making it a vital part of the Outback.
Straight out of the chute are the big figures - $11,328,999 was spent in Queensland by overnight visitors to the 2023 Mount Isa Mines Rodeo. Of this figure, $7,396,076 was attributable directly to the Mount Isa economy. The event was responsible for generating 45,414 visitor nights in Mount Isa. The majority of these nights were generated by intrastate visitors (27,480).
In just its third year and after taking Gold in the Festivals and Events Category at the Queensland Tourism Awards and winning the recent National Reconciliation Awards (Partnerships), the Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships generated $3,138,437 in direct and incremental expenditure with $1,792,405 of this amount attributable to the Mount Isa economy. The event was responsible for 12,162 visitor nights in Mount Isa.
Last year was also one for the record books with the most entries in the event’s then 64 year history, plus the highest number of junior and female entries ever.
The Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.
The Mount Isa Rodeo Festival is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
Contact details:
Kath Rose
0416 291 493
kath@kathrose.com
