May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent. To that I raise my glass. Cheers!
Think of Oktoberfest and it is hard not to think of beer. However, the birth of Oktoberfest was a dry affair. On October 12, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I, married Princess Teresa of Sassonia-Hildburghausen (Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen). All the citizens of Munich were invited to join the celebrations, with a horse race being the main attraction. When the occasion was repeated the following year, it gave rise to the Oktoberfest tradition. By 1814, German poet Achim von Arnim reported the festival was well-stocked in frothy goodness, though food and beer stands became prevalent in 1818.
We Aussies are partial to sharing in the traditions of our family around the world, and Oktoberfest is no exception. In Geelong, it is recognition of history as much as it is a celebration. One of Geelong’s earliest settlements was known as Germantown, now known as Grovedale, and some of the first vineyards and market gardens in the region were planted by Germans – among them the Bieske, Baensch, Kerger, Winter and Boehm families, who migrated in the 1840s under the sponsorship of Geelong’s first mayor, Alexander Thomson.
“I think this kind of event is just right for a city like Geelong which is being branded through tourism as the craft beer capital of Australia,” says Geelong Mayor, Darryn Lyons. “I think it’s really rare for us to have international events and this is a hugely expensive operation but I just decided to go out on a limb to bring Oktoberfest to Geelong.” And going out on a limb he is, with Lyons stressing that the venture is a private one, with nothing to do with the city council.
“This is not sponsored by Victoria Major Events. This is not sponsored by the City of Greater Geelong. I didn’t want to put it through Geelong Major Events because people might do a snipe about those kinds of things.
“We are the event manager along with our partners [The Events People], the events company that did it in Hobart last year where it was a massive success.”
More than 14,000 people turned out for Hobart’s inaugural event, putting down the better part of 30,000 litres of beer and cider. For Geelong, Darryn is hopeful of numbers to rival Hobart. “It’s one of those things, it’s all about fun. We’re targeting 10,000 people which will make it a massive event for Geelong, and we’ve had a huge response already – in fact, it broke the internet on the first day, the first hour of ticket sales.”
Beer aside, Geelong Oktoberfest will serve up a mouth-watering range of food – the smells of bratwurst and chicken, wood-fired meats, potato pancakes, pork knuckles, root vegetables, chips, smoked fish and schnitzel burgers will all fill the air. You want pretzel girls? You’ve got ’em. Traditional German music and entertainment will feature, while revellers will also be able to learn about the Bavarian culture and history.
Okay, we’ve put the beer aside for long enough. In keeping with the Bavarian Purity Law ‘Reinheitsgebot’, 14 beers have been imported straight from Munich, including Hofbräu, Franziskaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu and Paulaner. Reinheitsgebot was adopted in the duchy of Munich in 1487 and across the entirety of Bavaria in 1516. A part-text of the 1516 Bavarian Law reads: “The only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance shall be punished by the Court authorities’ confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail.”
If the drink is what gets you there, and the food is what keeps you there, then the entertainment makes the day. Miss Oktoberfest is a quest to find the “ideal” Bavarian woman; that is, one who can wear a dirndl with pride, while also displaying their skills in stein lifting, beer pouring and Oktoberfest trivia. Stein lifting involves holding the one-litre steins at arm’s length, parallel to the floor, for as long as possible.
For the hirsute individual, Oktoberfest’s beardmeister competition seeks out the finest moustaches and beards. Hirsute for happiness, and happiness for all.
Geelong is well-known for its cultural diversity. One needs to look no further than Pako Festa for this. With Oktoberfest, Mayor Lyons is thrilled to be bringing new flavour to the region. “It’s going to be a massive celebration of our multicultural existence, which of course is huge in Geelong with our multicultural population.
“For me, it’s the historical nature of the festival. They were bringing something like this out of Europe to the major capitals around Australia and I thought I was in a position to nick it for Geelong – and that’s exactly what I did.”
When & Where: Geelong Racecourse – October 10
Written by Wylie Caird