General News
18 October, 2024
Bash reaches golden standard
With registrations surpassing 600 people and just under $50,000 raised for various cancer causes, the 2024 Laanecoorie Gold Bash has been deemed a sparkling success.
Laanecoorie Lakeside Park was packed throughout the weekend with a stacked program suitable for enthusiasts caught with a strong case of gold rush fever and non-prospectors joining in the fun.
The event helped raise close to $50,000 for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The Kids’ Cancer Project, smashing last year’s mark of $34,000.
“It was fabulous, it was better than I expected actually,” event coordinator Mandy Downing said.
“Putting those events in for the non-prospectors, having people who followed people who do detecting and getting to talk to people that do it made for a really exciting vibe.
“The market was really well received, [we are] hoping to get some more stalls next year, everybody who had a market stall made some good sales.”
New to the festivities this year was the kids-only token hunt and panning events which Ms Downing said led to many having a golden experience.
“The kids loved the token hunt — we couldn’t get them off the field,” she said.
“We had a couple of adults go over the field after and they couldn’t find a single token so the kids had smashed it.
“Brent Shannon from Aussie Gold Hunters was there and he decided to throw in one of the panning bays $200 worth of gold one dollar coins and all the kids were in the mud and water panning and had a ball.
“We hope to encourage the next generation of prospectors to get out there and enjoy the Australian bush.”
While the committee had some reservations before the event, Ms Downing said organisers are motivated to make the 13th Gold Bash bigger and better next year.
“We had thought this was going to be the last [year],” she said.
“We thought that we were getting dated and it might not be relevant anymore but now we are definitely doing it next year.
‘Thank you to everybody who attended and a big shout out to those who supported us, sponsored us and volunteered. We couldn’t do it without you.”