Speedway, Rowing, and water skiing: How Mildura is recovering for the floods

Excitement is building for engines to roar and competitors to make a splash in the river at Mildura this Easter long weekend. Read what’s on.

Mildura has a packed long weekend on the cards as the community hopes to continue pushing forward with an events-led flood recovery.

Mildura City Council is investing $40,700 into the line-up of events over the Easter long weekend.

Cr for Recreation and Events Mark Eckel said the “millions of dollars” tourists would inject into the community would be a “generous” return on the ratepayer dollars being spent.

“When you consider the millions of dollars visitors inject into our local economy over the Easter long weekend each year, this is a very generous return on ratepayers’ investment to support these amazing local people, groups, and clubs,” he said.

He said the region was “so fortunate” to boast such a broad range of clubs that “in many cases have been successfully delivering state and national-calibre events for decades”.

“While it’s these passionate and innovative groups that have made Easter at Mildura an annual pilgrimage for tens of thousands of visitors for decades, I’m also proud of the role we at Council can play in supporting their brilliant efforts.

“It’s our region, our economy and our community that ultimately benefit from their tireless work, which in almost all cases is performed by hard-working volunteers who simply have a passion for their club or event and are willing to dedicate hundreds of hours of their own time.”

Mildura City Council has committed to an events-led flood recovery. Picture: Supplied

The Mildura Ski Club will kick off the weekend with the Mildura 100 Ski Race, which will start at 8:00am on Friday, April 7 and continue with events on Saturday and Sunday.

President Geoff Thomson said the club’s focus had been on “providing an outlet for locals and visitors alike to enjoy their passion for getting out on the river” since its inception well over 60 years ago.

“Through the work of hundreds of volunteers, both on the ground and at committee level, the Mildura 100 has evolved throughout that time to become one of the biggest ski races on the national calendar, attracting over 600 competitors annually,” Mr Thomson said.

He added the club was proud of the role the event had played in making the Easter long weekend such a success for the community.

Another event to be hosted over the weekend will be Mildura City Heart’s Good Friday Show and Shine.

The show will take over Mildura’s streets at 11:00 on Friday and aims to represent all things that rev with local clubs showing off utes, motorbikes, vans, trucks, muscle cars, and everything in between.

Mildura City Heart manager Danielle Hobbs said the whole community pulled together to make every year better than the last.

“We work really well together to make this event happen, remembering the power sport club representatives are all volunteers. They are amazing to work with and go above and beyond to make each year a success,” she said.

Another popular event will be Mildura Rowing Club’s 100th Easter Rowing Regatta.

The regatta runs over both Saturday and Sunday starting at 8:ooam and wrapping up at 2:00pm. About 120 competitors are expected to race this year, with their friends and family to cheer them on from the sidelines.

Mildura Rowing Club President Kevin Tankard said the club was grateful to have the community support to make it to the milestone.

“It’s great to have made it to our 100th event, and it’s certainly evolved over the years, ” he said.

“Back in the old days, when it was on a Saturday in Mildura followed by Wentworth on Sunday, they used to tie all the boats together and float them down the river to Wentworth …

“There’s a lot of work that goes into each event behind the scenes, starting before Christmas … But we’re fortunate to have a lot of volunteer members and a great committee”.

Also throughout the weekend Mildura’s famous speedway will host the Easter Powersports weekend, with more than 80 competitors to take to the track.

Mildura Speedway Drivers Club Project Manager Jarod Waters said the event was born out of love for the sports.

“Like all of the other clubs that contribute to the Easter long weekend, we rely 100 per cent on volunteers, not just to run the event, but to do all the planning and work beforehand to make it happen.

“We all do it because we love it and it’s great to see the benefits that flow from that to the local businesses, the caravan parks, the restaurants and other sectors as a result of the number of visitors our events attract.”