General News
28 April, 2025
Huge crowds hit Stawell for Easter weekend
A jam-packed Easter weekend in Stawell has seen thousands of visitors mixing with countless locals to enjoy all that was going on in the region.
A jam-packed Easter weekend in Stawell has seen thousands of visitors mixing with countless locals to enjoy all that was going on in the region.
At the Gift, Stawell Athletic Club president, Shavahn Healy likened the atmosphere to one not seen in decades.
“I have not seen a crowd this big [in years],” she said.
“In the 80’s it was about this big, when the trains would come in.
“We’ve had a crowd underneath the scoreboard and all around the whole ground, it’s been electric out here.”
The lure of seeing Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy proved a handy one as the pair, along with several Olympians, national champions and previous Gift winners lit up Central Park’s grass track.
The festivities were not confined to Central Park this Easter, with the Main Street Extravaganza drawing a crowd for families on Saturday.
“Each business I spoke to said it was great,” said Llewelyn Clark, president of Stawell Biz. and one of the organisers of the Extravaganza.
Despite the postponement of the Stawell Gold Cup, a crowd still built at the Stawell Raceway for patrons to celebrate in the usual race day festivities, and meet special guest Gout Gout.
Northern Grampians Shire Council mayor Karen Hyslop said the weekend went better than anyone could have expected.
“It was just fantastic, it was such a great weekend,” she said.
“Everybody put in a lot of effort into making sure that it worked well, that it all ran smoothly, and it was just a fantastic weekend all around.”
Cr Hyslop said the Easter weekend is huge for local economy,
“I don't think anyone can overestimate how much value adding and how good it is for our community,” she said.
“It's just so nice to showcase what we have got.
“I think we should be pretty proud of our town and the shire, and the effort gone in to making it what it was, and it was fantastic.”
Travis Bywater, manager of the Ritchies IGA in Stawell said the Easter business was huge for his Main Street store.
“It went bananas,” he said.
“The Thursday before Good Friday, we did double what we would normally do, literally double and then some.
“Probably about a 120 per cent increase on that particular day alone.”