Goomeri Pumpkin Festival cancelled: Is a pothole stopping the pumpkins rolling?

A new town feature in the South Burnett, a massive pothole gouged out in the 2022 floods, is partly to blame for the cancellation of the beloved Goomeri Pumpkin Festival that attracts tens of thousands of people.

The great potzilla of potholes in Maudsley St, Goomeri in January 2022.​

The Goomeri Pumpkin Festival has been cancelled this year and while plans for 2024 are building enthusiasm, a massive pothole has became the elephant in the room as to why it was cancelled.

The festival attracts up to 20,000 people each year to the normally quiet township of Goomeri, 76km west of Gympie, and is beloved by locals and interstate travellers alike, injecting an estimated $2m into the region’s economy.

Festival coordinator Mortimer Duff said the event was working with the local community and an “extremely helpful council to bring it back off the ground for 2024”.

Mr Duff is only a week into the role after former coordinator David Mawhinney stepped down to follow a “bucket-list” of adventures.

The committee is also brand new to the role, and with such big shoes to fill from past years, Mr Duff doesn’t want to do a “half-baked rush job” with only four months of planning. He cited this as the reason for the cancellation.

“We really want to get it back off the ground and are focusing on what we can bring in 2024,” said Mr Duff.

A parade, pumpkin rolls and contests ares just a few of the activities that happen during the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival.

It has been a difficult few years, as Covid restrictions shut the festival down in 2020.

It bounced back in 2021 with a spectacular year of festivities, earning it a tourism award from the Gympie Chamber of Commerce.

Then the 2022 flood swept through Goomeri leaving Maudsley St like a disaster scene from a movie.

This pothole became the elephant in the room when questions arose as to why the festival was cancelled this year.

This isn’t an ordinary pothole, half the road is missing in one section.

Maudsley St is the key to closing the Burnett Highway and the other roads for the festival.

Potholes are a frequent topic of discussion among residents of the South Burnett and Gympie regions, with the Nanango region being declared the most fatal roads in Queensland, it is cause for serious concern.

It allows alternative access through Goomeri.

In January the pothole celebrated its first birthday, with a birthday card, streamers and balloons hung around the safety fencing by frustrated locals.

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig told the Gympie Times the council was “committed to repairing Maudsley St so traffic could proceed in the normal route”.

Last week’s council meeting saw the recovery funding process, particularly on roads, reach unexpected proportions on its application to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

Mayor Hartwig acknowledged the process extended beyond expectations as “the size of the disaster along the eastern seaboard had blown out the funding” and the needed “$60 million is far above and beyond council’s budget”.

“It definitely wasn’t because of Maudsley St,” Councillor Hilary Smerdon said.

“It’s not nearly the reason, these festivals die out due the lack of volunteers and the lack of community support. It’s sad as the pumpkin festival is the biggest event in the region.”

The infamous pothole feature on Maudsley Street, Goomeri, was decorated with birthday balloons and a large birthday card.

But Mr Duff was very optimistic.

“We’ve got a great team of locals, continuing patrons, and then a whole slate of fresh faces who are committed to coming to meetings a year and half before the festival begins,” he said.

The map and activities planned for the 2021 Goomeri Pumpkin Festival. Maudsley Street allows access through the southern end of the town.

Mr Duff is really excited about taking on the role of festival coordinator.

He said as a cattle farmer and a local to the area he “grew up with the Gympie shows and Goomeri Pumpkin Festival”.

He said he had“been to more Gympie events than (he had) hot dinners.

“If you want to be involved get in contact, it’s not my festival, it’s a festival for everyone in this region,” he said.

When asked if the pothole would be fixed by 2024, Mayor Hartwig gave no definitive answer and just said “hopefully very soon.”

The question now remains as to whether or not pumpkins or the council will fill the pothole before 2024.