Rural Christmas cheer on display where the gumtrees grow

Rural residents have once again dusted off the baubles and rolled out the tinsel to ‘jingle all the highways’ of the Western Downs as part of the ‘Christmas Where the Gumtrees Grow’ competition.

This year marks the third running of the festive competition which encourages rural residents to decorate their property entrances, letterboxes or even farm machinery for the chance to win great local prizes.

Western Downs Regional Council Mayor Paul McVeigh said that this initiative was a favourite of Council that displayed the creativity and pride of the community across the region.

“Christmas is a time to come together and this competition unites our region as one community to celebrate the festive season and spread Christmas cheer in our own unique way.” Cr McVeigh said.

“The start of summer brought some tricky weather conditions but it’s fantastic to see that 15 rural households made the effort to get involved and show their Christmas spirit.

“This year we’ve had some incredibly creative entries and judging the winners was particularly challenging, but I’m pleased to announce that the first prize this year has been awarded to the Ison Family of Chinchilla who worked ‘tyrelessly’ to create their entry.

“The Donovan family of Jimbour took out second place with their elves, six white boomers and candy cane decorations, and third place was won by the country nativity twist created by the Stiller family from Guluguba.

“All of the entries this year were fantastic, and they showed that this active and vibrant community of ours is proud to share their spirit and celebrate living on the Western Downs

“On the Western Downs, it’s the people that make it, and I would like to thank and congratulate all of the entrants who took part in this year’s competition.”

A round of Santa-plause for the winners of the 2021 Christmas Where the Gumtrees Grow competition: 1st Place, – $500 Bunya Mountains Accommodation Voucher – The Ison Family 2nd Place, – $300 Local Supermarket Voucher – Donovan Family 3rd Place, – $200 Local Butcher Voucher – Stiller Family Lucky Draw, Christmas Ham – Byrne Family

To see all of the entries head to: https://www.wdrc.qld.gov.au/living-here/our-communities/christmas-where-the-gumtrees-grow