The Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival

Like all good stories, the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival all began with a round of drinks. In 1994 a few locals sat around spinning yarns over a cold one at the local Town & Country Club when the topic of conversation shifted to one question “How do we put our town on the map”?  

From there someone came up with the bright idea to run a triathlon. But this wouldn’t be any old triathlon, run against coastal backdrops or swam in the cool ocean waves, this triathlon would do battle against the harsh Outback elements. Only the toughest of the tough would be able to brave this bucket list item.  

And so the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival was born.

Since that day in the Town & Country Club the Festival has grown to include three days of jam packed events including Junior and Senior Triathlons, horse races, fashions on the field, an exclusive Country Tastes Luncheon, a PBR bullride and nightly outdoor concerts.

Between horse races, bullrides, novelty events and triathlons there is something for everyone at the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival. In 2018 the Festival has brought back to life Pit Stop to the Creek, a campaign aimed at families, adventurers and 4WD lovers.

Driving the Overlander’s Way

Julia Creek is located in the heart of the Western Queensland Outback, 7 hours away from the coast and 3 hours away from Mount Isa, along the Flinders Highway. This gorgeous barren Outback highway is affectionately known as the Overlander’s Way.

Holding a Festival in the middle of the Outback, hours away from the closest city, means that there are limited options for travel – with only one small regional flight in and out of the town, the majority of Dirt n Dust patrons travel to the Festival via Outback road trip.  As any seasoned traveller knows getting there is half the fun!

The Overlander’s Way is a long historic stretch of highway that begins in the city of Townsville on the Queensland coast. The sealed highway follows the path of our historic Australian drovers, who would bring herds of cattle from the east Kimberley to the coast. The history of this route didn’t stop there either with the Overlander’s Way serving as an important supply line during World War II.