Maryborough will host the 2023 National Town Crier Championship

Across Australia, town criers are “limbering up their larynxes” for the 2023 national championships, set to be hosted in Maryborough next month. DETAILS.

As host, Maryborough’s Town Crier Ken Ashford will not be able to compete. Pictured with Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour.

For the first time in more than a decade, Maryborough will be hosting this year’s National Championships of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Australian Town Criers.

Held from June 29 to July 2, the event will coincide with the Mary Poppins Festival Week, which the Fraser Coast Region Council hopes will generate more tourism and media interest for the region.

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The competition will be held on Saturday July 1, when each contestant — representing towns across Australia — will start the morning, performing a Home Cry dedicated to their hometown, and the afternoon, continue the competition with a Mary Poppins-themed cry.

“We are hoping that the criers will also attend the Mary Poppins Festival on Sunday, 2 July, for the Mary Morning Tea and to join in the street parade,” Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said.

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“The National Town Crier Championships have been held annually for the past 43 years in different towns across Australia,” the spokesperson for Fraser Coast Regional Council said.

“The last time Maryborough hosted the National Town crier Championship was in 2011, and back in 2005, the city hosted the World Town Crier Championships with 65 criers from across seven countries competing.”