Over the Easter break, all roads led to Cobram, with a fantastic range of activities drawing huge crowds to the town and district.
Firstly, the Murray Football Netball League season opener was between arch-rivals Cobram and Barooga at the Tigers’ home ground.
A comment from one of the Tigers’ faithful indicated the enormity of the crowd: “This has to be the largest crowd seen at Cobram for more than 30 years.”
Whether right or wrong, the crowd watching the game was huge and possibly attributed partly to the 100-150 people who attended the enormously popular reunion of the ‘old boys’ of the 1974 and 1984 premiership teams that same day.
The past players from 40 and 50 years ago reminisced on their glory days and collectively agreed they wouldn’t have missed the event for anything.
On Easter Sunday, the River Beaches Festival, organised by the hardworking team at Cobram Barooga Business and Tourism, saw an estimated crowd of 4000 go along to enjoy a family-friendly day at Thompsons Beach.
The festival was abuzz with heaps of activities for the young, including a sandcastle competition, Dutch Thunder Animal Rescue showcased a range of animal exhibits and was on hand to answer questions about local wildlife, while there was also a variety of stalls and food trucks to keep everyone happy.
Music from the local group The Skerricks kept the crowd entertained throughout the afternoon.
The major feature of the day was the popular duck race, in which 2000 rubber ducks were dropped from the bridge and paddled to the finish line.
Tickets were in demand, and organisers kept 1000 tickets to sell after 12pm for latecomers, which sold out within 90 minutes.
Despite lots of vocal encouragement from the crowd at the river’s edge, the ducks did their own thing, and numbers 741, 629 and 123 came in first, second and third.
Winners were: First prize of $1000 won by Jasper Ng, 6, a student at Cobram Anglican Grammar School who, when asked what he would do with his winnings, replied with a happy smile, ”I am going to put it in the bank“.
Second place ($300) went to the Cobram family: David Jervis, Steph Thompson, Dom Thompson, 12 and Aurora, aged 18 months.
Veronica Taylor won third place ($100).
For the first time in some years, the three winners were all residents of Cobram.
“At the peak of the race, we had approximately 4000 people enjoying a great day out on one of our region’s finest beaches; how wonderful is that,” Cobram Barooga Business and Tourism chair Nikki Goldsworthy said.
“It was a huge success, and funds raised will go towards events held throughout the year, such as the Tri-State Games and Australian Beach Volleyball Championships.”
Also held over the weekend was a hugely successful market conducted by the Lions Club of Cobram.
Crowds exceeded expectations, and everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather.
Cobram Runner’s Club held its annual ‘Sandy Event’ on Easter Sunday, which has a considerable following and attracts enthusiastic runners from around the region.
Overall, Cobram organisations showcased their ability to host and entertain not just locals but visiting families and tourists with a wide range of activities over the three-day Easter holiday period.