General News
7 May, 2025
Massive month for Mareeba
THREE large events that will attract thousands of people to the Mareeba Shire over the next few weekends will inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy.
While the actual economic boost is not known, the Great Wheelbarrow Race (9-11 May), the Northern Nats (16-18 May), and the Rotary FNQ Field Days (28-30 May) promise to deliver a cash boost to local businesses.
The events come on the back of Easter, Anzac Day and May Day long weekends which, due to the fine weather, attracted thousands of people to the Mareeba Shire and Tablelands.
Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin said the value of the events to the local economy could not be under-estimated.
“While council does not currently hold specific statistics around the economic spend or visitor numbers for each of the events, what we do know from long-standing community and business feedback is that their value to our region is significant and multi-faceted,” she said.
“Events like these are essential drivers of economic activity in our regional Mareeba Shire community.
“They attract thousands of visitors, many of whom stay overnight, dine locally, purchase fuel, explore the region, and support local retail and service providers. In some cases, businesses report their highest takings for the year around these events.
“Beyond the direct economic impact, events bring vibrancy to the region, showcase our unique character and culture and provide important opportunities for community connection and pride.
“They support jobs – both directly through event delivery and indirectly through tourism, hospitality, and retail.
They also provide a platform to promote the Mareeba Shire to a broader audience, potentially converting event-goers into return visitors or future residents, as well as telling their family and friends about the region.
“From an economic development perspective, a strong regional events calendar also helps to build a resilient local economy by diversifying income streams and reducing reliance on single industries.
“For tourism specifically, events help drive off-peak visitation and contribute to the year-round viability of tourism businesses.”
This year, the Great Wheelbarrow Race has attracted 50 nominations, bringing many teams from the Far Northern region to Mareeba to take on the 140km challenge. Dimbulah, Almaden and Chillagoe benefit greatly from the race as hundreds of people inundate the small towns.
On 16-18 May, the spotlight will be on the Northern Nats motoring event. For three days, the best drag racers in North Queensland will battle it out on the quarter-mile drag strip along with some of the biggest burnout cars in Australia, luring thousands of spectators to witness the action.
The Rotary FNQ Field Days at the end of this month is a massive event over three days at the Mareeba rodeo grounds where producers can see new innovations and the latest products and machinery.
But it’s also a great family day out, with crowd-favourites such as the Tractor Pull, daily machinery demonstrations, events in the arena, cattle display, and Emergency Services demonstrations.
The three-day event has grown exponentially since its conception in the mid-1980s, with more than 15,000 people attending in 2023 and a record 500 sites and 450 exhibitors.
Field Days chair Andrew McCosh said this year the event had grown again, with around 600 sites available.
“We have the theme of Agriculture and Innovation which has a wide scope of presentations and offers people the opportunity to have a look at innovations on local farms,” he said.
“The Field Days are held every two years and provides an enormous economic and social investment in not just Mareeba and Atherton, but to the whole of Cairns and districts.
“All monies raised from this event goes back to the local communities. There has been nearly $1 million distributed to the many charities and organisations across the region.”
