Clermont’s 21st Gold and Coal Festival goes ahead

“It’s recognising what has made Clermont what it is today and the possibilities for the future”: More than 1200 headed to the regional community for the iconic display.

Visitors from across the region headed to Clermont on the weekend for its 21st Coal and Gold Festival, a big community celebration of the town’s history.

Event organiser Tania Gillies said it was “a relief” to be able to go ahead on Friday and Saturday, August 20 and 21, after the cancellation of many major events across the region due to Covid lockdowns, including Gemfest.

“We don’t rely so much on out of town people coming in to support the festival,” she said.

“If we lost those people, it would’ve been unfortunate, but we still have enough local support to make it happen, which is great.”

Apart from having to cancel in 2020 due to Covid restrictions, and one other year from a lack of volunteers, Ms Gillies said the festival had run annually since its first launch as Gold Fest.

Clermont Artslink President Kristy Espig, one of the organisers of the festival.

“It’s a celebration of the history of gold mining and the coal industry and how they have been the foundation of the town, as well as how it’s evolved with other industries,” she said.

“It’s recognising what has made Clermont what it is today and the possibilities for the future.”

Although she said it was more of a celebration of community, providing a chance for groups, businesses and locals to get together and promote everything the regional town has to offer.

The event kicked off on Friday night with more than 1200 people heading to Hoods Lagoon for the very first Lanterns on the Lagoon.

Ms Gillies said they launched 100 water lily lanterns with candles into the lagoon in a “beautiful” show of gratitude.

“We’ve had quite a few losses in the community, one in particular was the loss of Councillor Lyn Jones,” she said.

“There’s the losses, the impact of Covid, and people get a bit down.

“So we turned it into a gratitude ceremony. People wrote down things they were thankful for. It was really nice.”

In photos: Clermont’s 21st Gold and Coal Festival

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Stall holders from near and far set up a market display for the community, with a range of products and live music showcasing local talent.

Visitors and locals also had a glimpse as a piece of mechanical history in action.

The Clermont Historical Centre fired up a fully restored Aveling & Porter #6803 steam engine as part of the Gold and Coal Festival.

Clermont local, Kevin Fry, took on the full restoration of the machine under the direction of Bob Kluck.

Mr Kluck said it was a great and rare opportunity for locals to see in action the machine that moved multiple two storey buildings to the new town site following a major flood in 1916.

“It’s fascinating history for kids and adults,” he said.

“It’s a great piece of machine. Owning one of these in that era would be like owning the biggest Mack truck you could afford to buy.”

Festivities ran on through the weekend, showcasing the rich history of Clermont, located within the Isaac region.