Town Criers descent on Maryborough

TOWN Criers all over Australia are limbering up their larynxes in preparation for the National Championships of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Australian Town Criers in Maryborough from 29 June to 2 July.

The Fraser Coast Regional Council is sponsoring the championships to add to the exciting activities during Mary Poppins Festival Week and generate tourism and media interest in the Fraser Coast.

The criers will be treated to a Mayoral reception on Friday, 30 June, following their annual meeting, and then on Saturday, 1 July, the competitions begin in earnest.

The criers will perform a Home Cry about their hometown in the morning, and in the afternoon, competitions continue with a Mary Poppins-themed cry.

“We are hoping that the criers will also attend the Mary Poppins Festival on Sunday, 2 July, for the Mary Morning Tea and to join in the street parade,” Mayor George Seymour said.

“This is a colourful and fun event that you won’t want to miss with all the criers performing in their colourful regalia from Maryborough’s historic rotunda in Queens Park.”

It is not the first time that Maryborough has hosted town crier championships: in 2005, during Maryborough’s centenary celebrations, the city hosted the World Town Crier Championships with 65 criers from seven countries competing and in 2011, it hosted the Australian National Championship.

The National Town Crier Championships have been held annually for the past 43 years in different towns across Australia under the authority of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Australian Town Criers.

Town Criers represent their town and compete against one another for the