… to be a little drunk on Australia Day, to watch sport, and to listen to the Triple J Hottest 100, but what about sitting on a dunking machine in a white top, with no bra on, in front of a crowd of drunk men shouting “Off, off, off”! Last time I checked, that was not in my Australia Day agenda.
So I found it surprising that this activity would be in anyone’s agenda on ‘Our National Day’. We spent the morning listening to the above mentioned music countdown before picking up Kelly and Jaimee and heading for the annual Cockroach races held at the Story Bridge Hotel. Yes, cockroach races. You can BYO or purchase a ‘roach imported from Melbourne, why Melbourne I don’t know as there are certainly some ‘roaches to be found here in Queensland. They have some 15 races with proceeds from entry fees going to the children’s hospital.
Now the average age of ’roach spectators was about 20 so when you combine youth, alcohol and the 30+ degree temperature, you’ll find that many of the spectators were shirtless. Except for those brave young girlies who decided to do their bit for a childrens hospital and sit on a dunking machine to raise money and … spirits, the wardrobe of those little girlies varied from white tshirt with bra, white tshirt without bra, bikini tops and one little lady who had nothing but shorts and hands to cover the … you get the idea.
With an expected crowd of 7,000, we only managed to see one ‘roach race but thankfully were near the back of the grandstand so those delightfully squashed creatures being thrown at the crowd post race, didn’t make it back to us. After that we decided to head to the more sedate Pineapple Hotel where we stumbled into the cool oasis that is the public bar. Ahh, the public bar, long forgotten by all but the barflys once a trendier terrace area is built. But after the mayhem of the cockroach races, the icy, empty interior of a public bar with it’s neverending Keno and multiple sports channels, was heaven. Of course, we only stayed long enough to cool down and get a drink before moving to the trendy new terrace but in our defence it overlooks a park where the pub crowd were taking turns to drink and then run out into the park for a ramshackle cricket match. Now that’s Ozstraaaalian!
