Pine Creek Goldrush Festival 2019

The Pine Creek Annual Gold Rush Festival is held the first weekend in June every year. It takes place in our historic Gold Mining town of Pine Creek, located 200kms south of Darwin. This festival celebrates the town's connection to its Goldrush heritage and continues to be a great delight for generations of people.

The weekend kicks off with Friday Night’s Art and Photography Prize Night. This encourages people to show their skills in all genres. It enables all cultures to engage and represent their dynamics.
All ages, all cultures, all people facilitating community through art. Great night! Great Prizes!
The event is held in the heritage listed Station Masters House at the National Trust Railway Precinct. This also allows the Art and Photography Prize Night event to showcase another important part of Pine Creek’s history, The Railway.

Saturday encompasses a myriad of entertainment and activities featuring the main event, Pine Creek NT Gold Panning Championships, with over 100 people entering. After a series of heats throughout the day, for all ages, the final is put together from winners of each heat and a grand champion is awarded $500.00.

Other activities on the day include:

- Stake your claim, Goldrush 2018 had over 350 stakes purchased and after positioning your stake in a prescribed area, you could be the lucky winner of a Gold Nugget!

- Practice Panning is a great opportunity for people to try there hand at an age old activity and with a bit of luck, find the Gold!

- Damper Making is always popular with approx. 20 entrants each year. Flour, water, salt and syrup are supplied for the chance to win a Camp oven!

- The Chung Wah Dance Troupe attend and perform, thus bringing the ever important representation of Chinese Heritage that formed Pine Creek during the Goldrush of the 1800's.

- Katherine Vintage Car Club also attends and displays a great array of cars allowing the past to join the present.

- Local food and market stalls are also present giving a great opportunity for locals to promote and display there community wares.

The fun filled day leads into a wonderful night of entertainment and dance at the Pine Creek Hotel from 6pm to late with ’Bunny and Her!’ Goldrush Festival Pine Creek is a community event in every sense of the word. Culturally enabling the indigenous clan groups of the Jawoyn, Wagiman, and Myalli people, the representation of the Chinese heritage and the European influence to come together and showcase a wonderful town.