It’s the classic cut that has put Kurri on the world map.
More than 800 people attended the Chelmsford Hotel on Saturday for the inaugural Mulletfest competition, but it was the worldwide media coverage it garnered which was even more staggering, according to publican Laura Johnson.
The woman behind the festival said she still had a hard time believing the international furor the competition sparked.
“It’s hard to believe...I was confident we’d get a few national stories, but for it to go international was a shock,” she said.
“We were ecstatic with it.”
Russian and Asian TV Channels, as well as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) picked up the story, broadcasting scenes of Kurri and its curly characters to literally millions of viewers around the world.
Adding to that, as of Monday Laura had done 37 interviews with radio stations around the globe.
“It just kept growing,” she said.
Aside from the event itself – “[it] was amazing, there wasn’t a curse word said the whole day” – the festival provided a desperately needed economic boost for the battling town.
A mining downturn and the closure of the Kurri aluminium smelter in 2012 were both body blows to employment and business in the area.
“Every business has struggled since that smelter shut. We’re no exception,” Laura explained.
That’s why the brains trust of the Chelmsford Hotel sat in the front bar six months ago, pitching ideas aimed at bringing business to the flailing town.
“It’s been hard for all the businesses here. I didn’t want the ‘Chelly’ to die, I knew we had to do something,” Laura said of coining the winning concept.
“Mulletfest stuck right away.”
She’s confident the financial benefits of the weekend extended far beyond the doors of the ‘Chelly’.
“For the town of Kurri itself, it’s a really important boost,” she said.
“We had about 800 people in the door and I think about half of them were travellers (who had to get accommodation).
“We had bar staff telling visitors to make sure they come back for the Nostalgia Festival next month.”
After this year’s blazing debut, Laura has no doubt there’s a new permanent fixture on the Kurri calendar.
“It’s here to stay,” she said.
