ABOUT MELON FEST
The Chinchilla Melon Festival is held every two years in February. Escape the city, meet up with friends and experience the Western Downs.
Known as the ‘Melon Capital’ of Australia, Chinchilla produces a quarter of Australia’s melons and celebrates the fact biennially in February. Join with the locals for some hilarious fun and festivities as events, such as melon skiing, melon iron man, melon bungee, melon bullseye, pip spitting and melon tossing, get into full throw.
There’s back-to-back entertainment for the whole family. So pull on some old clothes and take to the streets of Chinchilla, that are awash with melon mayhem. But be warned: you might end up in a very sticky situation!
HOW IT ALL STARTED
A celebration of all things melon and a tribute to our town’s melon farming reputation, the Chinchilla Melon Festival has become renowned Queensland event. In 1994, with the Chinchilla community suffering from long-term drought, it was realized the spirit of the stricken district needed a boost of confidence. A small band of dedicated volunteers formed a committee to promote Chinchilla’s
dominant contribution to the Australian Melon Industry. In 2025 we celebrate our 16th festival.
The first festival attracted about 2500 visitors to the town and surrounding areas. By 2019 the crowd had swelled to around 15,000 with the fun and exciting events drawing revellers from far and wide.
In 2018 Chinchilla won Wotif “Big Thing” competition and the Big Melon Slice was gifted to Chinchilla. Weighing in at four tonnes, standing three-metres high and nine metres wide this iconic slice of watermelon hold pride of place on the Warrego Highway, situated between the Chinchilla Visitor Information Centre and the railway crossing.
The committee continue to be a small group of committed individuals who through hard yakka and dedication bring this festival together every two years. The event is an impressive family-fun festival around its famous watermelon. That’s why it appeals to so many national and international travellers.
If you’ve never skied on watermelons or attempted melon bungy the next Melon Festival may be your time to shine!
ABOUT CHINCHILLA
Chinchilla is known as the ‘Melon Capital’ of Australia. The Melon Festival is held biennially. Situated less than 300 km from Brisbane, this small, thriving community has progressed a grain crop based economy to the dynamic region where coal and gas exploration and power station development projects go hand-in-hand with extensive feedlots, cotton and broad-acre farming. Chinchilla is ideally located for those who wish to escape to the pristine beauty and rustic experiences of the Western Downs. The Warrego Highway provides the most efficient way of getting here for the visiting motorist.
