Outback Nutbush attempt comes up short at Mundi Mundi

In a State of Origin style battle, thousands of NSW bootscooters have fallen short of beating Queensland’s nutbush world record.

Over 3,700 outback bootscooters have fallen painfully short of the Nutbush world record at the Mundi Mundi Bash, with the sought after title remaining with the sunshine state.

Queenslanders can rest easy after the Broken Hill attempt, to beat their World Record for the largest Nutbush City Limits dance, was 364 festival goers short on Saturday.

The Birdsville Big Red Bash set the current world record of 4084 dancers in July this year.

But it wasn’t enough to dim the spirit of the 3,720 wildly-dressed revellers who lined up across the sprawling desert plains for the 1973 Tina Turner classic.

Over half the festival participated in the impressive Mundi Mundi Bash music festival effort. Picture: Matt Williams

More than half of the festival goers, many of whom were dressed in costumes inspired by the Mad Max movie franchise, chose participate in the dance.

The effort raised more than $55,000 for the festival’s charity partner, the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The festival has raised more than $500,000 for the RFDS since 2016.

Aussies dressed in wacky outfits were easy to spot at the Broken Hill festival. Picture: Matt Williams

Over 3700 revellers took part in the Nutbush. Picture: Andrew Gosling

“It was an awesome effort and really came down to the wire,” festival owner Greg Donovan said.

“We were so close and hopeful of nabbing the world record for NSW – but the Birdsville Big Red Bash has managed to keep the title by a small margin.”

He said he hopes the loss will inspire an even larger crowd next year.

“It’s going to be fun watching the states battle it out at the Bash festivals over the coming years,” he said.

“Either way, it’s a win-win to continue raising such important funds for our charity partner, the Royal Flying Doctor Service.”

Jennifer Mastras from the Royal Flying Doctor Service said almost $80,000 has been raised by the event so far and funds were still being counted.

Revellers dressed in Mad Max themed outfits have taken to the festival in droves. Picture: Andrew Gosling.

“While we didn’t quite break the record on this occasion, we saw incredible support for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and raised valuable funds that will ensure people in rural and remote communities are able to access high quality healthcare,” she said.

Almost 8,000 revellers of all ages are attending the Mundi Mundi Bash this year.

Headline performances include Oz rock legend Jimmy Barnes, country queen Kasey Chambers, as well as Australian music acts including Daryl Braithwaite, Russell Morris, Pierce Brothers, Bachelor Girl and the Buckleys.

Missy Higgins performing with Peter Garrett during Midnight Oil's headline set at the Mundi Mundi Bash. Picture: Matt Williams

Last night, Jon Stevens hit the outback festival stage.

During his time on stage, Stevens joined a growing list of other artists to call out Scott Morrison, dedicating his performance of No Lies to the former prime minister.

Earlier on in the festival, Midnight Oil and Missy Higgins joined forces on stage, with the Oils’ Mundi Mundi Bash performance marking one of their last performances for Australian fans before their upcoming retirement.