The drop bear race in Narrandera seeks to raise money for koalas. Photo: Rotary Club of Narrandera.
Narrandera is preparing to unleash 20 of Australia’s most unlikely athletes on the Murrumbidgee – with a little help from the mythical creature that has terrified tourists for generations.
The Drop Bear Dash will see 20 named “drop bears” race down the river four times on Saturday 19 September, with locals and people across the Riverina invited to put $5 or more behind their favourite.
And while the bears might be fictional, the reason they are racing is very real.
The event is a charity raffle organised by the Rotary Club of Narrandera to raise money for the town’s famous riverbank koala colony.
Rotary Club of Narrandera member Isaac Cohen said the event had embraced one of Australia’s favourite tall tales.
“The drop bear is the one Australian animal you can never quite photograph, so we built 20 of them and gave them racing careers,” Mr Cohen said.
“Bruce ‘The Unit’ has never lost a race. He’s also never raced one. That’s the calibre of athlete we’re working with.”
The joke will be familiar to anyone who has seen the classic Australian “drop bear” gag – or Bundaberg Rum’s memorable advertising campaign featuring beautiful European tourists being warned about the supposedly vicious tree-dwelling animals.
The mythical drop bear is essentially a murderous version of a koala, said to hide in trees before dropping onto unsuspecting people below.
Narrandera’s Rotary Club has turned the gag into a fundraiser, with the 20 bears including characters such as Bruce “The Unit”, Grandma Judy and The Ghost of ’74.
Four races will be held from 2 pm, with heats at 2 pm, 2:15 pm, 2:30 pm and 2:45 pm, and the action streamed live to the world.
Every top-three finish triggers a live prize draw for people who have backed that bear.
But beneath the silliness is a serious conservation story, says Mr Cohen.
Around 290 koalas live along Narrandera’s riverbank, with the colony counted by hand every September since 1979.
That makes Narrandera’s colony something of an Australian conservation success story at a time when koala populations elsewhere face growing threats.
“Underneath the silliness is the real story: about 290 koalas live on Narrandera’s riverbank, counted by hand every September since 1979, while a NSW inquiry warns koalas could be extinct in the state by 2050,” Mr Cohen said.
“Narrandera is one of the few places going the other way, and every $5 bear helps keep it that way.”
Punters are asked to choose a bear to back.
The event is free to watch, while entries start at just $5.
Mr Cohen said the town had embraced the unusual fundraiser.
“It’s five bucks, it’s streamed live, and the town has gone properly mad for it,” he said.
“There are posters of angry koalas all over Narrandera. We’d love the whole Riverina to pick a bear.”
The Drop Bear Dash will hit the Murrumbidgee River in Narrandera on Saturday 19 September, from 2 pm, with four races streamed live; you can back a bear from $5 and find more information online.
