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24 March 2010
WHEN it comes to racing animals, most people might think of horses, greyhounds or even camels. But not those living in Bylong in the upper Hunter Valley. This weekend the tiny town between Mudgee and Muswellbrook will host the 22nd running of the Bylong mouse races.
"I guess it's our version of the Melbourne Cup or Golden Slipper," says Andrew Wallings, chairman of the committee which oversees the hall where the rodent races are held. "Everybody in Bylong takes part and there's a great atmosphere in the town that weekend."
But it's not just the locals who get caught up in the excitement - more than 2000 people attended last year's race meeting and Mr Wallings is hoping for a similar turnout on Saturday.
"We get people from Sydney and all over the state travelling here for the races and many of them camp over in the town and make a real weekend of it.
"It's a pretty unique event and it's a lot of fun. Some visitors have been coming for years and tell us it's an important date in the diary."
The mice race across a 12-metre perspex box in which 10 tracks are stacked on top of each other to allow easy viewing. The winners from 10 heats then go into the final for a chance of snaring the cup.
"The mice don't get trained, so you don't know until the race is run whether they'll run straight to the other side or just around in circles. It adds to the spectacle," Mr Wallings says.
The race meeting was started as a way to raise money for the local school and after last year's event, more than $30,000 was given to charity.
For the mice, though, there is more at stake than just the glory of being named this year's champion. All are bred locally to be supplied as food to reptile owners and, while many are sold as pets at the end of the races, others end up in the food chain.
But not the winners. "I make sure that I keep the fast ones who win the races and they get used for breeding the next generation of runners," says Sue Athey, who lives down the road at Charbon and supplies the mice.
"I guess it's a bit like racehorses where only the good ones get to go to stud, so maybe in a few years we'll have a stable of supermice that are super strong and super quick."
Credit: Tom Reilly1
22 January 2014
Bylong Mouse Races end after 25 years
FOR 25 years, visitors have come to Bylong in March for the annual mouse races, but after its most successful run last year the event has been cancelled.
A combination of a dwindling population and community apathy has cut down the hopes of anyone hoping to train up a Phar Rat or a Black Camembert for the event.
"Last year we had a record profit on the day...and we've been nominated for Community Event of the Year on Australia Day," said Jodie Nancarrow, secretary for the Bylong Hall Committee which organised the event.
The number of visitors for the event kept getting bigger over the years, while the population in the Bylong Valley got smaller - and after many years and "a mountain of hours" organising the races, Ms Nancarrow said the current committee wanted others in the community to step forward and take over this year.
"No-one showed any interest in taking over...so we decided 25 was a pretty good number to finish on," Ms Nancarrow said.
"We've done enough."
With last year's record profit of $60,000 bringing the total the event has raised for charity to more than $500,000, Ms Nancarrow said it was good for the Mouse Races to have "gone out with a bang".
Ms Nancarrow said she was proud to have seen the event grow over the years, as it became ever-more popular with Grey Nomads and other people travelling around Australia.
"It became a real family affair," she said.
The sense of fun the event provided was evident in the nick-name of "Gai Watermouse" - bestowed upon the person responsible for organising the mice each year, Ms Nancarrow said.
Last year, in the midst of the the Independent Commission Against Corruption's enquiries into (alleged) dodgy mining deals in the Bylong Valley, locals were also happy to see mice called "ICAC" and "Eddie" in the running.
Credit: RODERICK MAKIM2
30 January 2014
Cheesed off: Bylong mouse races canned
FOR 25 years, visitors have flocked to Bylong in March for the annual mouse races, but after its most sucessful run last year the event has been cancelled.
A combination of a dwindling population and community apathy has cut down the hopes of anyone wanting to train up a Phar Rat or a Black Camembert for the event.
Even winning the Mid Western Regional Council's Community Event of the Year award on Australia Day wasn't enough for the organisers to reconsider, after years of hard work.
Secretary for the Bylong Hall Committee Jodie Nancarrow said the number of visitors for the event kept getting bigger throughout the years, while the population in the Bylong Valley got smaller.
After many years and "a mountain of hours" organising the races, the current committee wanted others in the community to step forward and take over this year.
"No-one showed any interest in taking over... so we decided 25 was a pretty good number to finish on," Ms Nancarrow said.
"We've done enough."
With last year's record profit of $60,000 bringing the total the event has raised for charity to more than $500,000, Ms Nancarrow said it was good for the Mouse Races to have "gone out with a bang," especially with winning the Australia Day award.
Ms Nancarrow said she was proud to have seen the event grow throughout the years, as it became ever-more popular with "grey nomads" and other travellers across Australia.
"It became a real family affair."
The sense of fun the event provided was evident in the nick-name of "Gai Watermouse" bestowed upon the person responsible for organising the mice each year, Ms Nancarrow said.
Last year, in the midst of the Independent Commission Against Corruption's inquiries into mining deals in the Bylong Valley, locals were also happy to see mice called "ICAC" and "Eddie" in the running.
RODERICK MAKIM3