A Time Capsule, Bush Dancing, A Street Parade And Even A Beard Competition Are All Part Of Wilmington’s Big Birthday Weekend
Wilmington is turning 150, and for one big weekend in October, the Southern Flinders Ranges town is winding the clock back.
There’ll be old cars and farm machinery rolling through the main street, bush dancing, period costumes, a 50-year-old time capsule dug from the ground and a rather impressive replica railway water tower.
The celebrations run from Friday, October 16 to Sunday, October 18, marking 150 years since Wilmington was established in 1876.
And after a century and a half, locals are ready to party.
A Weekend 150 Years In The Making
Celebrations kick off on Friday night with a meet and greet at the Wilmington Complex, giving former residents, locals and visitors a chance to catch up and browse memorabilia.
Saturday starts with a nod to Wilmington’s railway past, with the unveiling of a 3.5-metre-high replica railway water tower at Centenary Park.
Featuring historic images of Wilmington, the tower marks another chapter in the town’s history. The railway reached Wilmington in 1915, making the town the northern end of the line from Gladstone, until closing in 1990.
Digging Up The Past
At Wilmington Primary School on Saturday morning, a piece of Wilmington history is waiting underground. A time capsule buried during the town’s centenary celebrations in 1976 will be unearthed.
Plenty of locals still remember burying the time capsule 50 years ago, and there’s a lot of curiosity about what they’ll find when it resurfaces.
The morning will also include guided tours and memorabilia, with Wilmington’s oldest resident, Pauline Battersby, doing the honours for the official cake cutting.
Born a Dignan, Pauline is the daughter of Edmund P. Dignan, the local agricultural machinery maker behind the Dignan Stripper and a prominent figure in Wilmington’s early history.
Dust Off The Bonnet. Or Grow A Beard.
Saturday night is when Wilmington plans to really let its hair down.
The Cabaret Night starts at 7pm with the Wild Matildas Bush Band, plus old-time dancing and a chance to learn a few moves too.
Period dress is encouraged, with people invited to pick their favourite era from the past 150 years. Bonnets, bell bottoms, questionable 80s fashion, it’s all fair game.
There’s even a beard competition for those who’ve been planning well ahead.
The bush band will play until around 9pm before Ray Collins (Fatboy DJ) keeps the party going until 2am, with supper included and the bar open.
One Big Sunday
Sunday morning starts on a slightly more respectable note, with a combined church service at 8.30am for anyone needing to repent their sins from Saturday night.
Then at 10.30am, the action moves to Cudmore Terrace for the street parade, with vintage cars and farm vehicles making their way through town to the oval.
From 11.30am, it’s back to some old-fashioned fun with a community picnic, tug of war, three-legged races and plenty more traditional games.
It’s a fitting way to celebrate a town with plenty of history behind it.
Originally known as Beautiful Valley, Wilmington grew as a farming community and transport stop for grain and wool moving by horse and cart between Port Augusta and Adelaide.
And while agriculture has long been part of its story, Wilmington once had quite an industrial streak for a small country town.
Along with Dignan’s agricultural machinery works, a three-storey flour mill was built in 1878, while a butter factory later produced Beau Val butter, its name borrowed from the town’s earlier Beautiful Valley name.
One hundred and fifty years later, Wilmington is bringing plenty of those old stories back to life for a weekend, while giving former locals a pretty good excuse to come home and help celebrate.
WILMINGTON 150TH CELEBRATIONS
WHEN: Friday, October 16 to Sunday, October 18, 2026
WHERE: Wilmington, Southern Flinders Ranges
CABARET NIGHT: Saturday October 17, 7pm to 2am
TICKETS: Adults $15, children aged 5–15 $5, under 5 free, family $40
MORE DETAILS/TICKETS: Click here
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