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The Darwin Beer Can Regatta is a festival event [1] which has been held annually since 1974 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia at Mindil Beach. The inaugural event had 63 entries [2] and was attended by about 22,000 people [1] which was about half of Darwin's population at the time. [3]
Participants create boats using empty beer cans, soft drink cans, soft drink bottle and milk cartons. Up to 30,000 cans have been used for a single boat. [2] The vessels are not tested for seaworthiness, prior to water events, and those that fall apart are part of the day's entertainment. A great many sundry events go along with the regatta, including concerts, sandcastles, a thong-throwing contest, novelty hat competition, and the "Henley-on-Mindil" competition (named after the Henley-on-Todd Regatta), where participants run their "boats" around like Flintstones cars. [4]
The Regatta was begun in 1974 by Darwin businessmen, Lutz Frankenfeld and Paul Rice-Chapman, [1] as a way to clean up beer cans littering Darwin's streets. [2] This was the same year as the Darwin Rocksitters Club and, in their early years, they were often closely associated with each other as they were both viewed to celebrate the drinking culture of the Northern Territory. [5]
The Darwin Regional Tourism Promotion Association was the organiser of the event until 1978 when it came under the aegis of the combined Lions Clubs of Darwin. [1]
In the 1980s, the Regatta had about 18 classes, which included motorised beer can boats. [2]
The 2014 Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta took place on 6 July 2014, watched by 15,000 people and attended by visitors from all over Australia. The winner of the first beer can regatta was Kevin Jaques driving the Darwin Powerboat Club's entry "Pistol Knight". Des Hoare the cricketer and then Sales Manager for Swan Brewery Darwin, presented Jaques with the winning cheques totalling $1,000, doubled because the beer can boat used only Swan beer cans. As Jaques used his 80 hp Mercury Motor he was also presented with a Mercury First sticker. The perpetual trophy is held within the NT Museum storage area and the keepsake trophy is on the mantlepiece at Jaques' home. Jaques holds copies of the news clippings and the photographs of the presentations. [6]
In 2020, the Beer Can Regatta was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. [7] In its place, on 8 August a much smaller, 4-hour, Mini-Regatta was held in which the vessels were made of milk cartons. Located at Darwin Waterfront Precinct, instead of the usual Mindil Beach venue where as many as 15,000 watched the races, only a few hundred spectators attended. [8]
In 2021, the Regatta was back at Mindil Beach on Sunday 5 September from 10am to 5pm, [9] and in 2022 it was on 26 June. In 2023 it was held on 16 July. [10]
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With a population of 139,902 at the 2021 census, the city contains most of the sparsely populated Northern Territory's residents. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australian capital cities and serves as the Top End's regional centre.
Alice Springs is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; the third largest settlement after Darwin and Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd, wife of the telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Todd. Known colloquially as "The Alice" or simply "Alice", the town is situated roughly in Australia's geographic centre. It is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.
Darwin Harbour is a body of water close to the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the traditional waterways of the Larrakia people.
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other water-borne craft for as long as such watercraft have existed.
Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the world's five major Coca-Cola bottlers. CCA operated in six countries—Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa. The company also bottled beer and coffee.
Mindil Beach Casino & Resort is a casino in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, owned and operated by Delaware North. It is the only casino in Darwin.
Beer arrived in Australia at the beginning of British colonisation. In 2004 Australia was ranked fourth internationally in per capita beer consumption, at around 110 litres per year; although, the nation ranked considerably lower in a World Health Organization report of alcohol consumption per capita of 12.2 litres. Lager is by far the most popular type of beer consumed in Australia.
The Henley-on-Todd Regatta is a "boat" race held annually in the typically dry sandy bed of the Todd River in Alice Springs, Australia.
Larrakeyah is an inner suburb of Darwin, the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory. It is the traditional country and waterways of the Larrakia people. It was one of the first parts of the city to be developed, and borders the Darwin Central Business District.
Football Northern Territory (FNT) is the state governing body for soccer in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the national governing body. The Territory is also separated into three zones – Northern, Central and FICA (Southern) – which have their own zone councils which administer leagues locally running their own league and cup competitions.
ABD is the call sign of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Darwin, Northern Territory. The station was the first to go to air in Darwin, on 13 August 1971. Its studios are located in the inner city of Darwin, with analogue transmitter owned by the Nine Network on Blake Street in The Gardens and digital transmitter on Deloraine Road. The station is received throughout the territory through a number of relay transmitters, as well as by satellite on the Viewer Access Satellite Television platform.
Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Library & Archives NT comprises the Northern Territory Library and the two Northern Territory Archives Centres in Darwin and Alice Springs. Located in Parliament House in Darwin City, it is the premier public research and archival organisation focused on the history, development and culture of the Northern Territory of Australia. The library holds more than 108,000 books and 30,000 items. The archive holds Northern Territory Government records, which are normally opened 30 years after they were created.
The Darwin rebellion of 17 December 1918 was the culmination of unrest in the Australian Workers' Union which had existed between 1911 and early 1919. Led by Harold Nelson, over 1,000 demonstrators marched on Government House at Liberty Square in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia where they burnt an effigy of the Administrator of the Northern Territory, John Gilruth, and demanded his resignation.
Darwinbus is the official operational name of the public bus network which operates within the Greater Darwin region, this includes the satellite cities Palmerston and Casuarina, in addition to the Darwin Rural Area in the Northern Territory. The network is exclusively operated by CDC Northern Territory under a six-year contract with the Northern Territory Government starting from 1 July 2022, and in the financial year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, carried approximately 3.5 million passengers, equivalent to a 5-6% modeshare. Prior to July 2022, the network was operated by two contractors; CDC Northern Territory, and Territory Transit who had shared operation of the majority of urban bus services.
Mindil Beach is a beach in the Northern Territory of Australia, located in the suburb of The Gardens, near Darwin's central business district. Mindil Beach holds the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, which runs during the dry season of every year. These markets are popular with both the locals and tourists alike and can attract thousands of people..
Michael Patrick Francis Gunner is an Australian former politician who was the 11th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2016 to 2022. He was a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, holding the seat of Fannie Bay in Darwin from the retirement of then Chief Minister Clare Martin at the 2008 election until his resignation in July 2022.
The Darwin Festival, founded as the Bougainvillea Festival in 1979 and named Festival of Darwin from 1996 to 2002, is an annual arts festival in Darwin, Northern Territory. It celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifestyle. The festival is held over 18 days in August and comprises a series of events including outdoor concerts, workshops, theatre, dance music, comedy, cabaret, film and visual arts. The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair is held under the umbrella of the festival, and the Garma Festival, NATSIAA art awards, and National Indigenous Music Awards are within the festival period.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Northern Territory is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
The Darwin Rocksitters Club was a club formed in Darwin in the Northern Territory in 1974. Rocksitting, sometimes known as rock sitting, is the practice of sitting on rocks and drinking beer for as long as they were able.
