Since its humble beginnings in 2007, the Merbein Community Rodeo is still proving to be one of the most popular events on the community’s calendar. Teagan Bell catches up with an original committee member and the event’s current president to discover the story behind the rodeo’s continued success and the contribution of one of its most significant supporters.

Dusty beginnings 

The Merbein Community Rodeo was established with one hope – to put the small town of Merbein on the map.

After the apparent success of a rodeo held at Tapio Station in NSW, it was suggested to council that a similar event could be hosted in Merbein.

The idea was approved and Merbein local Bill Crosbie was appointed president of the newly formed Merbein Community Rodeo Inc committee.

“After that, Bill went to see John Thompson who was a fruit inspector and a bit community minded,” former committee member Kevin Muller says.

“They both realised they didn’t know much about rodeo and that’s when they came to see me.”

Now 89, Kevin joined the rodeo circuit at 16 after leaving home with only the clothes on his back, a blanket and five pounds to his name.

It was a path he pursued for almost two decades, competing in all kinds of rodeo events from bronc riding to bulldogging.

Together, Kevin, John and Bill headed the committee, and though the trio didn’t have an exact vision for what they wanted the event to be, its continued success has come as a surprise.

“We were only trying to get something started and then it went on and on and on,” Kevin says with a laugh.

“The first year was a bit of a disaster because the day we’d picked was probably the hottest one we’d had,” Kevin’s wife Marie says.

“Only two or three hundred turned up and we thought we were going to go broke straight away.

“There was this awful wind and a dust storm which came and blew everything away.

“We never thought we’d have another one – but we did.”

Since then, the event’s popularity has grown each year, bringing in ever-expanding crowds and an endless queue of food and beverage vendors keen to be part of the action.

“It’s been picking up all the time and we haven’t struck a bad day since,” Marie says.

“There’s been no real issue – the only disaster now is when they run out of beer too soon.”

A family affair

While the event includes standard rodeo events such as the saddle bronc, bareback and bullride, Kevin says what makes the rodeo so special is its community spirit and family appeal.

“I think it’s a good thing for Merbein because it attracts people of all ages,” he says.

“You’ve got little kids dying to get in and pensioners who love it.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by his son Jeff, who has been president of the committee for the past three years.

“I think it brings the Sunraysia community together, which was the dream of the committee when they got it up and running,” he says, adding that the family element is also significant behind the scenes.

“The committee is like a bit of a family, we all get on well together.

“When Dad got off of the committee I thought I’d better step up and help because I want to keep it running, which was the main thing because the original committee have done a lot of work to keep it going.

“Dad still comes out to help out and John does a lot of work organising things, but he’s slowly letting go of the reins a bit and his daughter has taken over as assistant treasurer wi...