The Tumbarumba Rodeo – which celebrates its 80th anniversary over new year – is the oldest rodeo in NSW and the third oldest in Australia. Photo: Tumbarumba Rodeo Facebook.
As Tumbarumba prepares to ring in the new year, the town will also celebrate a major milestone: the 80th Tumbarumba Rodeo, held on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at the Tumbarumba Showgrounds.
What began on New Year’s Day 1945 as a wartime hospital fundraiser has grown into one of Australia’s longest-running rural traditions – the oldest rodeo in NSW and the third oldest in the country.
That first rodeo, organised by the local hospital committee in the final months of World War II, drew around 3000 spectators and raised more than £1000 for the town’s hospital.
Newspaper reports described a full program of buckjumping, cattle events and roping exhibitions.
Organisers Jim and Peggy Pierce were later recognised with engraved stockwhips, and the event quickly became an annual fixture – a tradition that continues 80 years on.
Infrastructure improved, yards were upgraded and the rodeo matured into a fixture on the professional circuit, hosting Australian Professional Rodeo Association (APRA) events alongside committee-run competitions.
Over the decades, the rodeo remains a gathering place for families, a proving ground for riders and a major community event supporting local health services — recent fundraising even helped aged care purchase a community bus for residents.
Some stories are inseparable from the rodeo itself – none more so than Linton and Kath Bradley, whose connection spans, almost, the event’s entire history.
Linton first rode at 13 as part of the “Bradley Brothers”, competing in junior and senior events, while Kath not only competed herself but also watched her siblings and children thrive in the arena.
Together, they attended 75 rodeos, and this year four generations of their family will return to celebrate the event that has shaped their lives.
But there would have been no Kath without her father, Ossie Cottam, known as “The Tumbarumba Kid”.
Born in 1942, Ossie’s first memory of the rodeo was being thrown from a poddy calf in 1948 when he was six.
By 13, he was competing in nearly every event – bull riding, buckjump, bareback, bulldogging, calf roping, wild horse racing and wild cow milking.
Standout moments include winning four events in a single rodeo in 1965.
A true all-rounder, he gave the first exhibition of team roping in Australia with “The Cootamundra Cat”, Bob Holder, at Bland Rodeo near West Wyalong.
Today, Ossie admires the professional standard of modern Tumbarumba rodeos but fondly recalls the old spectacle of wild horses and uncontained stock.
For him, the rodeo represents both family heritage and community tradition, with four generations of Cottams continuing the legacy.
To mark the eight-decade milestone and Ossie’s extraordinary career, a trophy jacket will be awarded to the 2026 Ossie Cottam All Round Champion, open to competitors at both ends of the arena – rough stock and timed events – reviving the true all-round tradition.
Few people embody the rodeo’s continuity like Dave Daniel, a pick-up man for 44 years and former Tumba rodeo committee president.
Dave found his place in the arena in 1978, working alongside respected partners such as Russell Hulm, Peter Hammond, Warren Shore and Paul Doughty.
Dave’s earliest memories stretch back to the days when new year’s preparations meant mustering horses from local farms, walking them into the grounds, painting on brands, and settling them into the pound on the Town Common. Not every morning went smoothly – including the time the horses escaped and had to be rounded up again at the Union Jack – five miles from town.
He may have finally hung up the saddle in 2022, but he still supports the event with equipment, tractors and his own stock of first-class bucking horses.
Similarly, Roch McGrath, a club member since 1972, has quietly been at the backbone of the rodeo.
Starting on Chute 1, he saddled every bucking horse and later served as club treasurer and secretary, but for 50 years, he has opened the timed-event box on the competitor’s nod, including at APRA National Finals events.
Known for humility, one rainy day when cowboys refused to ride because it was “too wet”, he calmly climbed aboard the legendary bucking horse Purple People Eater.
Another family highlight surely came in 2000 when his children Hugh, Tom and Jude won the Wild Cow Milking competition.
The Pierce family is another rodeo powerhouse.
Jim Pierce, a living legend, earned multiple Australian Bronc Riding and Bull Riding titles.
His son, Brad Pierce, has followed in his footsteps, winning national championships in bronc and bull riding, PRCA Rookie Bull Riding and All-Around titles, and holding significant national records in saddle bronc.
Brad’s wife, Tayla, is a barrel racing champion, making the family a multigenerational rodeo force.
The quality of stock carrying the Tumbarumba name is exemplified by Hilltop Hustler, a seven-year-old stallion crowned APRA Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year in 2024 and 2025 – the only committee-owned horse and the only stallion ever to win the title.
At the anniversary rodeo, his first progeny will buck alongside their celebrated sire.
Across two days, spectators can expect saddle bronc, bareback, bull riding, steer wrestling, barrel racing, team roping, rope and tie, ladies’ breakaway roping and junior events, alongside food stalls, live music, and family entertainment.
Adult tickets start at $45, with concessions, youth tickets, family passes and free entry for children under six.
More details about the upcoming 80th anniversary can be found on the Tumbarumba Rodeo Facebook page.
