General News
11 April, 2026
What a whopper
THE annual Biggest Pumpkin Competition at the Moyston Easter Market is always hotly contested by local gardeners and this year victory went to Ararat’s Blaire Homburg. Blaire grew a whopper of a pumpkin weighing 127.2 kilograms in her backyard in Ararat. When asked her secret to success, she laughed and said it came down to an unhealthy amount of time and effort. “People asked is it the soil? Is it the fertiliser? I say no, just an unhealthy amount of attention. It was an unhinged, time consuming lifestyle choice but I was delighted with the outcome," she said.
THE traditional Moyston Easter Market last weekend was the biggest on record with over 3,000 people flocking to the Moyston Recreation Reserve.
The ‘once a year’ market attracted people from near and far with 75 stalls selling everything from plants, fresh produce, live chooks, scented candles, home made cakes, confectionary and gifts.
Two hotly contested competitions also drew people to the market – the Giant Pumpkin competition and the John Vanderwaal Longkick.
The popular Longkick is held each year in memory of young Moyston footballer John Vanderwaal.
Mr Vanderwaal was a talented footballer and a successful coach and in 2016 was the Mininera league’s highest goal-scorer after he kicked 125 goals.
Mr Vanderwaal was a keen supporter of the Longkick before he died in 2018 after a battle with cancer.
This year, 93 people entered the Longkick – the biggest number of entries in the competition’s history.
Winners from the different categories include;
Under 12 Girls
Alana Matulick – 18.10 metres
Under 12 Boys
Charlie Lovelock – 27.15 metres
Under 16 Girls
Emma Barr – 16.10 metres
Under 16 Boys
Arthur Cowie – 41.20 metres
Open Women
Willow Argus – 32.10 metres
Open Men
Corey Taylor – 47.60 metres
Veterans (50+)
Damien Eubergang – 31.80 metres
The Giant Pumpkin Competition saw a magnificent display of big pumpkins and veggies.
Although some 40+ degree days earlier in the year ruined some chances, it didn’t stop many garden enthusiasts from around Moyston, Ararat, Pomonal and Stawell to keep up the watering to ensure a decent array of entries.
The whopper of a pumpkin that eventually won, weighed in at a very impressive 127.2 kilograms grown by Ararat’s Blaire Homburg.
It’s understood the winning entry was grown from the seeds of the pumpkin that won last year, that came in at 164 kilograms.
Market co-ordinator Sam Ball said the market and its many activities went off perfectly.
“It was such a successful day.
“In previous years we’ve had over 2,000 through the gate and this year was substantially bigger. My guestimate is we had over 3,000 people raising a substantial number of gold coin donations for the Blue Ribbon Foundation,” she said.
“It’s really wonderful to see our community come together. We work so well on the day and it’s nice to give our community groups an opportunity to raise funds to support their projects and shine a light on our little town,” she said.
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