HOOF beats will again drum up visions of colonial Australia as the sun goes down in Mortlake.
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Organisers of the Mortlake Muster are using the Australia Day weekend to pay homage to the nation’s bygone colonial era. Up to 30 horses have been trained for the show — one of the biggest biennial events on the district’s calendar.
Mortlake Muster president Ann Dodds said the two-hour performance was a storyline made with a mesh of history.
“We have Banjo Patterson who is sick of city life and is looking for his friend Clancy,” she said.
“We’ve got a whole team of horses which are trained for drill patterns and crossovers … they do their own version of a line dance.
“It’s purely an Australiana night and there’s some comedy thrown in as well.” There will also be live music performances.
The 2012 event drew big crowds — enough so that this year’s muster has dates on Saturday, January 25, and Sunday, January 26, at Tea Tree Lake from 8pm.
“Originally it started in 2004 …we got a good response last time so we thought we’d expand it,” Ms Dodds said.
The event is also a key fund-raiser for the Mortlake community’s emergency services, including the SES and CFA.
About 70 volunteers made the show possible, Ms Dodds said.