Mount Isa's first NAIDOC rodeo crowned inaugural winners

More than 2,000 people attended Mount Isa’s first NAIDOC 4B Rodeo and Music Festival at Buchanan Park, where organisers crowned the event’s first buckle winners.

Competitors came from across Queensland and beyond for the inaugural programme of bulls, broncs and live music, held at the end of NAIDOC Week’s 50th anniversary.

At night, Tess Fapani, Coloured Stone and DJs Normey Jay and Lil Mase led the music lineup as the crowd celebrated culture and unity.

Organiser Tarhynee Shepherd praised the turnout. “Mount Isa showed up here today and I couldn’t be more proud. This region brought the Deadly, and what a perfect way to finish Naidoc Week, celebrating 50 years of Deadly,” she said.

Junior and open buckle winners

In the junior rodeo events, Jayde Scott won the Under 18 Barrel Race buckle. Chilla Hartley, from Cloncurry, took the Under 15 Steer Ride title.

Second Division honours went to Josh Armstrong in Saddle Bronc and Charles Fischer-Bond, from Cherbourg, in Bull Ride.

Courtney Grey, a Cloncurry cowgirl, claimed the Ladies Barrel Race championship with a blistering 16-second ride.

The Open events also produced close finishes. Toby Daley, from the Gold Coast, won the Bareback Bronc title.

Meanwhile, Tyler Chong and Oliver Wiggins shared the Open Saddle Bronc buckle after a sensational finish.

The night programme also featured Big Eye Theatre Dancers, Murri Island Dancers and Mornington Island Dancers, adding cultural storytelling and movement to the festival.

According to Shepherd, the event brought community and culture together on country in a new way for Mount Isa. She described the first NAIDOC rodeo in the city as a special way to mark 50 years of NAIDOC Week and celebrate the next generation.

The inaugural festival made history at Buchanan Park by combining rodeo competition, music acts and dance performances in one NAIDOC event, with winners and performers now part of the first chapter of the Mount Isa programme.