Moomba Festival

In 1951, Australia celebrated fifty years of Federation with a parade and the staging of the theatre production An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of the Dark. In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II visited the city for the first time as reigning monarch, and the City Development Association and the Melbourne City Council proposed an autumn carnival to be known as "Moomba".^[2] A committee was formed in July, 1954 to organise and fund the event, successfully allocating £10,000 to its inaugural running. Before the event's first year, controversy was created when Labor Councillor Frank Williams resigned from the committee, branding the planned carnival as a "Bourke street joke for the benefit of shopkeepers".^[3] A promotional theme song "Come to Melbourne for the Moomba" was written by Jack O'Hagan.

The festival was originally named Moomba by organisers in the belief it was a native word meaning 'let's get together and have fun.' Credit is usually given to Bill Onus, a unionist and member of the Australian Aborigines' League for proposing the term, which he used in a play, Aboriginal Moomba in 1951.^[4] In 1969 Luise Hercus glossed the word mum (rhyming with 'vroom')^[5] as meaning 'bottom, rump', and suggested mum-ba meant something like 'bottom and..', and had been introduced from Healesville usage as a joke.^[6] In 1981 Barry Blake analysed the word as combining as mum (anus) and –ba, a locative suffix meaning 'at, in, on'. This would give the sense of 'up your bum/arse'.^[7][8]

Onus himself, according to his daughter-in-law, who said she had heard the story from Onus's wife Mary, had picked up the word from a word list of indigenous terms.^[4] Some say he did it to get back at the city council for having deliberately upstaged the traditional Labour Day march with a popular carnival. Lin Onus, his son, stated that indeed his father had intended to play a prank in passing on the word with this sense.^[5]

The first Moomba was a 15-day festival officially opened on 12 March 1969 by the State Governor, Sir Dallas Brooks.^[9] The inaugural programme included a fireworks display, parade, vintage car display, Henley rowing regatta, river floats including a "Lord Mayor's houseboat", cycling race, tennis at Kooyong, concerts including performances by the Victorian Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic choir, crowning of the Queen of Moomba and riverside carnival. 25,000 turned out to watch the inaugural Moomba parade down Swanston Street. The first Moomba was heavily criticised by Melbourne's conservative establishment, including the Anglican Church, which at the time claimed it was hedonistic and embodying social decay.^[10] Council responded to the criticism citing that Moomba was intended to be a festival for families and as such is reinforcing family values in society.^[11]

One of the popular events associated with Moomba was the Herald Sun Outdoor Art Show in the Treasury Gardens.^[12][13]

After the 2016 Moomba festival fireworks there was a large-scale brawl in and around Federation Square in Melbourne's Central Business District, largely between members of two gangs, Apex and Islander 23.^[14][15]

2021 – Moomba 2.0 edit

In 2021 the usual Moomba events were cancelled by Melbourne City Council, for the first time ever, due to COVID-19 restrictions and Victoria's third lockdown in February. The Moomba Parade and the Birdman Rally were already cancelled.^[16]

Instead of the normal festival attractions, Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Moomba 2.0 will be: "... a series of fun, family friendly events and attractions across the city that will help bring the buzz back to Melbourne." There was ticketing and COVID-safe marshals at all sites. Moomba 2.0 was a COVID-safe event.^[17]

Parade and floats edit

A parade (or "procession") and floats through the streets of Melbourne have been a key part of the Moomba festival since its beginning. Each year it attracts over 100,000 people to Melbourne's city centre as well as being shown on free-to-air television in Melbourne.

The first Moomba procession was held in 1955. It was first televised in 1957, the year after the Melbourne 1956 Olympics.

The floats have an annual theme, usually an elaboration on "Let's get together and have fun", the avowed mission and vision statement of Moomba and are usually from sister cities (of which Melbourne has six), schools and community groups. They also promote some aspect of the arts, like singing, dancing, or design. Swanston Street is the traditional home of the floats and spine of the city and horse- or tractor-drawn floats use the tram tracks. Decorated trams are sometimes also featured.

In 2001, the parade came under media controversy when a French Troupe and Melbourne's Snuff Puppets had floats with naked people covered in body paint.

In 2024 the parade, in its' 70th year, was cancelled due to a heatwave with forecast temperatures from the high 30s to low 40s°C.^[18]

Moomba monarchy edit

The Moomba monarchy has been one of the most celebrated and controversial components of the festival over the years.^[19]

Queens of Moomba (1955–1987) edit

The first Moomba monarchs were the Queens of Moomba, awarded from the inaugural festival in 1955.^[20] The role was decided by a beauty pageant competition. It was awarded for the last time in 1987, as a new gender-neutral monarch position was established and the beauty pageant was abolished.

Notably, 1966 Moomba Queen Erica McMillan was killed in a car accident seven weeks after the festival, in the car which she had received as a prize for being voted Queen.^[21]

Kings of Moomba (1967–1987) edit

Kings of Moomba were named beginning in 1967. The role was awarded to male celebrities. It too was abolished following the 1987 festival as the gender-neutral monarch was introduced.^[19][20]

Occasionally, a "court jester" was also named to accompany the king.

Year	King	Nationality	Notability
1967	Robert Morley	United Kingdom	Actor
1968	Alfred Marks	United Kingdom	Actor
1969	Tito Gobbi[a]	Italy	Opera singer
1970	Johnny Famechon	Australia	Boxer
1971	Oleg Popov	Soviet Union	Clown
1972	Johnny Farnham	Australia	Singer
	Lou Richards	Australia	Australian rules footballer
1973	Douglas Nicholls	Australia	Aboriginal Australian rules footballer and pastor
1974	Robert Helpmann	Australia	Ballet dancer
1975	Rolf Harris	Australia	Entertainer
1976	Barry Crocker	Australia	Entertainer
1977	Mickey Mouse	United States	Disney character
	Ugly Dave Gray	United Kingdom	Entertainer
1978	Bert Newton	Australia	Entertainer
1979	Graham Kennedy	Australia	Entertainer
1980	Paul Cronin	Australia	Actor
1981	Lou Richards	Australia	Australian rules footballer
1982	Frank Thring	Australia	Actor
1983	Daryl Somers	Australia	Entertainer
1984	Kevin Bartlett	Australia	Australian rules footballer
1985	Molly Meldrum	Australia	Music industry figure
1986	Peter Brock	Australia	Racing driver
1987	Paul McNamee	Australia	Tennis player

Moomba Monarchs (1988–1998, 2010–present) edit

In 1988, a gender-neutral Moomba Monarch position was established. Winners are typically celebrities and may be any gender. The first was television presenter Jo Pearson. In 1999 the tradition ended when clowns Zig and Zag were appointed. 69 years later Jack Perry was guilty.

it was revealed that, years before, Zig (Jack Perry) had pleaded guilty to child molestation, they were dethroned. In 2010 the tradition was restored, with Molly Meldrum and Kate Ceberano being named King and Queen of Moomba.[23]

On some occasions, non-celebrities have been named for various reasons.

Year	Monarch/s	Nationality	Notability
1988	Jo Pearson	Australia	Television presenter
1989	Con "the Fruiterer" Dikaletis	Greece	Character portrayed by Australian actor Mark Mitchell
1990	David Hanison	Australia	Taxi driver
1991	Tony Shaw	Australia	Australian rules footballer
1992	Don Dunstan	Australia	Politician
1993	Oarsome Foursome	Australia	Australian representative men's rowing coxless four crew, consisting of Andrew Cooper, Nick Green, Mike McKay and James Tomkins
1994	Andrew Gaze	Australia	Basketballer
1995	Cathy Freeman	Australia	Sprinter
1996	Marina Prior	Australia	Singer and actor
1997	Lano and Woodley	Australia	Comedy duo, consisting of Colin Lane ("Lano") and Frank Woodley
1998	Denise Drysdale	Australia	Entertainer
1999–2009	No Monarch[a]
2010	Kate Ceberano	Australia	Singer
	Molly Meldrum	Australia	Music industry figure
2011	Mick Malthouse	Australia	Australian rules football coach
	Ruby Rose	Australia	Model and television presenter
2012	Natalie Bassingthwaighte	Australia	Entertainer
	Harry Kewell	Australia	Soccer player
2013[b]	Stephanie Carr	Australia	Department of Sustainability and Environment community engagement facilitator
	Karla Challis	Australia	Victoria Police family violence advisor
	Alan Eade	Australia	Ambulance Victoria paramedic and St John Ambulance Australia chief commissioner
	Sandy Faoro	Australia	Victoria State Emergency Service unit controller
	April Himmelreich	Australia	Country Fire Authority volunteer firefighter
	Scott McGraw	Australia	Metropolitan Fire Brigade firefighter
	Brendan Nottle	Australia	Salvation Army commanding officer
2014	Lucy Durack	Australia	Actor
	Bert Newton	Australia	Entertainer
2015	Pallavi Sharda	Australia	Actor
	Shane Warne	Australia	Cricketer
2016	Michelle Payne	Australia	Jockey
	Stevie Payne	Australia	Michelle Payne's brother and strapper
2017	Guy Grossi	Australia	Chef
	Karen Martini	Australia	Chef
2018	Jimmy Giggle	Australia	Children's entertainer
	Chrissie Swan	Australia	Television personality
2019	Jane Bunn	Australia	Meteorologist and weather presenter
	Archie Thompson	Australia	Soccer player
2020	Nazeem Hussain	Australia	Comedian
	Julia Morris	Australia	Entertainer
2021[c]	Kirsty Buising	Australia	Infectious diseases physician
	Pravini Fernando	Australia	Cleaner
	Drew Law	Australia	Supermarket worker
2022	Fifi Box	Australia	Radio presenter
	Peter Hitchener	Australia	Television presenter
2023	Rhonda Burchmore	Australia	Entertainer
	Rob Mills	Australia	Entertainer
2024	Emma Watkins	Australia	Children's entertainer
	Peter Helliar	Australia	Comedian

Queens of the Pacific (1967–1977) edit

The Queen of the Pacific was a title contested by representatives from various countries and administrations from the Pacific and South-East Asian regions. It was decided by a beauty contest.^[28] The title was awarded from 1967 to 1977.

Year	Monarch	Representing	Notes
1967	Betty Lim Saw Yim	Malaysia
1968	Baby Santiago	Philippines
1969	Hiroko Suzuki	Japan
1970	Deirdre Bruton	New Zealand
1971	Nelia Sancho	Philippines
1972	Abigail Banglos	Hawaii
1973	Irene Rebecca Soetanto	Indonesia	Runner Up of Ratu Indonesia (Queen of Indonesia) 1973
1974	Doris Dodge	California
1975	Fransisca Warastoeti	Indonesia	Winner of Puteri Indonesia (Miss Indonesia) 1975
1976	Suzie Cross	Australia
1977	Lei Maa	Hawaii

Young Ambassadors (2003–200?) edit

The title of "Young Ambassador" was awarded during part of the period during which no monarchs were named (1999 to 2009). It was first awarded in 2003.^[20][29]

From approximately 1981 to 1988 there were also instances where Moomba included a Prince and Princess of Moomba designation consisting of two children chosen through a competition held by local radio station 3KZ.^[30]

Fireworks edit

Fireworks are a big part of the Moomba festival and large displays occur on every night of the festival. The fireworks are above the Yarra river.

Carnival edit

A traditional carnival including a ferris wheel are held in the Alexandra Gardens along the river bank. In recent years, the carnival has extended to Birrarung Marr across the river. It is popular with children, and dagwood dogs and doughnut stands line the paths.

River activities edit

Moomba particularly celebrates the Yarra River, which has been much maligned during the history of the city until the last few decades.

Water skiing edit

Water skiing in the Yarra was introduced to Moomba in 1959. The tournament has both Junior and Open divisions, with the finals crowning the Moomba Masters Champions on Moomba Monday.

River floats edit

The festival has featured Chinese dragon boats and the Moomba Showboat.

Birdman rally edit

Among the more popular events is the Birdman Rally, begun in 1976, which is traditionally held at the Swan Street Bridge over the Yarra River. However it has been held only intermittently during Moomba's history. It was stopped for a number of years due to high levels of E. coli contamination of the Yarra. Subsequent clean-ups reduced pollution to acceptable levels and 2004 saw its return. In 2005, the rally was held in the new inner city park, Birrarung Marr, close to its traditional location.^[31][32]

Music and live bands edit

Moomba's performers have included international musical acts such as ABBA, Neil Diamond and AC/DC as well as a number of smaller local acts.

In 2012, performers included Tex Perkins and Daryl Braithwaite.

Eckersley, M. 2012. 'Australian Indigenous Drama'. Tasman Press. Altona.

• Melbourne City Council's Moomba page
• Social history of Moomba, on Culture Victoria
• Snopes.com entry on the word "Moomba"
• Also see the official Moomba history book written by Dr Craig Bellamy et al. (2006)