Just an hour from Sydney, Windsor is referred to by some as the town time forgot, and not always in a kind way.
Yes it has some fine colonial buildings and it’s the shopping and administrative centre of the first rural area outside Sydney to be settled by early colonists, but the town-that-time-forgot label has also been seen by many local businesses as something of an epitaph to Windsor’s fading fortunes as shoppers increasingly travel to the newer, glossier shopping complex at Rouse Hill, just 30 minutes away.
But these last few days the Macquarie towns of Windsor, Richmond and the broader Hawkesbury – the largest local government area in the Sydney metro region - have come alive thanks to the dumping of 250 tonnes of brickies sand.
To be more precise, the inaugural Hawkesbury International Sand Sculpting Championship has come to town and despite some solid deluges of summer rain this last weekend, which even saw one of the giant 12 feet tall sculptures partially collapse, the event still managed to bring a smile to the faces of around 7000 on Saturday alone as visitors flocked to see the work of a bunch of very talented international sculptors from the US, UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Australia.
So far more than 20,000 have visited and there’s still two weeks to go.
The concept has been a huge success in Victoria’s Frankston over the last seven years and down south now brings in around 300,000 thousand visitors over its four months stint every year.
The Hawkesbury version – run by the same company, Melbourne-based Sandstorm Events - was coaxed to the rural spot by a group called Heart of the Hawkesbury led by Windsor local, Michael Milman. The Hawkesbury version runs for six weeks until the end of January.
Milman would be the first to acknowledge that not all in this largely conservative neck of the woods welcomed the event, with one letter writer to the local Fairfax paper, the Richmond-based Hawkesbury Gazette, even saying he was not looking forward to thousands of what he called, “tourist zombies” coming to the Hawkesbury.
But despite the naysayers, the event opened its gates last Wednesday at Howe Park down by the Hawkesbury River in Windsor.
The shady walk has proven a perfect spot for the dozen 20-tonne Mystical Creature sculptures which have been four days in the making. The sculptors – many of whom make a full time living travelling the world working both sand and ice into massive sculptures - have been vying for a first prize of $5000 which on Sunday was awarded to Czech sculptor Jakub Zimácek, for his Sea Serpent.
“I thought I'd be looking at a bunch of people with a bucket and a spade, playing in the sand having a good time, but the depth of talent in these sculptors is absolutely inspirational,” said Federal Shadow Tourism Minister Bob Baldwin who handed over the prize-winning check to Zimácek.
Mr Baldwin added that next year – thanks to this year’s success Sandstorm has already agreed on a four year contract with another four years potentially on top of that – many international visitors would take the trip out to Windsor, potentially rejuvenating the town.
“The word will go out. This is now an international event and next year more people will come and we will have international tourists coming out here from the centre of Sydney and put it on their calendar as a day trip and as they visit the town, they will spend money and that helps with our local economy," said the shadow minister.
It’s a view shared by, of course, by Michael Milman who acknowledged while there had been doubts and uncertainty from some in the Hawkesbury about whether the event would get off the ground and be supported, he was thrilled that it had already gone so well, with another two weeks still to run.
"I'm sure many of the doubters have now been convinced. It really is a great event for all of us," said Mr Milman who is hoping for some sunny days for the last weeks of the sand spectacular.
Daily activities running now include sand art, sand bottle and sculpting workshops, and treasure-hunt style clue trails through the Windsor township. During the next two weeks an additional mystical sand creature and a Hawkesbury historical piece will come to life, each hand-crafted from 60 tonnes of sand, dwarfing the 12 sculptures already in place.
Tickets are $11 for adults, $4.40 for children aged 4-12 (under 4 are free), $22 for a family (two adults and two children). There are special rates for groups of 20 or more via Sand Sculpting Australia on (03) 5986 6684 or email admin@sandstormevents.com.au to book your group.
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