Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

Outback Festivals of the Northern Territory: Henley-on-Todd Regatta

The Territory is an easygoing place and the Australian humour really takes over at the madcap festivals that are typical of life in this place. Alice Springs, in the arid Centre, is the scene for the yearly Henley-on-Todd Regatta, where "boatraces" are held with bottomless boats, held up by the contestants who have to run through the dry riverbed. There are crazy bathtub races too and whole naval battles by, among others, "Vikings" and "Pirates" crewing battle boats on truck's chassis, bristling with mortars and high pressure coloured water cannons hurling flour bombs at their opponents. But if it rains and there is water in the river, the boat race has to be cancelled!

In 1962, the idea was taken up to hold a rowing and sailing regatta in Alice Springs - and the fact that the town was 1500 kms from the nearest large body of water was never seen as a problem. So, to parody the annual boating regatta between Oxford and Cambridge Universities on the Thames, they named the event the Henley-on-Todd.

Watching seemingly sane people race in bottomless "eights", "oxford tubs", "bath tubs" and yachts through the deep coarse sand of the Todd River provides an unique spectacle amongst world sporting events. The multi-event program attracts many local and international participants from the audience who often finish up on world TV news paddling canoes with sand shovels and in "land lubber" events like filling empty 44 gallon drums with sand.

The event is run entirely on a volunteer basis by the three Rotary Clubs based in the Alice. The entire proceeds - well over a million dollars raised over the years - is allocated to local, national and international humanitarian projects.

For more information visit the official web site http://www.henleyontodd.com.au/ from which this information was taken.

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