returns sat 21 october 2023

BillyCart race &

street party

QUEENSBERRY CUP

THE NORTH MELBOURNE BILLYCART CHALLENGE

Held for the first time in 2022, Queensberry Cup is back this year bigger, better and faster!

Not just a billycart race, Queensberry Cup is a street festival with something for everyone.

A dog show, music from across the globe, The Courthouse Bar, fun activities for kids, community dancers, tasty food and pop-up performances

When

Saturday 21 October 2023

1pm to 7:30pm

Where

Corner Errol St. and Queensberry St., North Melbourne VIC 3051

2023 Race Map

Free Entry

Raceday Packages

Get yourself a premium view by buying one of our Raceday Packages including food, drink and merchandise. Choose from Start Line, Chicane, Final Bend or Finish Line

Raceday Packages start at $44


ENTER THE CHALLENGE

Up to fifty billycart daredevils will race down Errol St. on contraptions of their own design.

Enter yourself or your team for a shot at glory and prizes including $1 000 to spend at local shops.

Each first place racer also receives an engraved trophy.
Plus consolation prizes for second and third in each category

Entries open now until filled.

Billycarts and drivers must adhere to the rules. Read the rules before you start building your cart!

  • Open Category
  • 7 to 12 year old 
  • 13 to 17 year old 
  • Most Creative  
  • Corporate Entry
  • Read the Rules

designing & building

Designing and making a billycart can be super-simple or (if you want) very complex.

Free workshops and maker sessions for billycart builders.

Advance bookings essential

Billycart Design
with automotive engineer Chris Peile from Smarter Choice Auto
16 September, 10am
North Melbourne Library
66 Errol St.

Maker Sessions
Advice, tools and materials available
Every Tuesday and Thursday, 10am to 3pm
Plus Saturdays 7 & 14 October, 10am – 3pm
Peter Mac Mens Shed
3 Bedford Place North Melbourne

Advanced Maker Sessions
Saturdays 7 & 14 October, 10am – 3pm
Smarter Choice Auto
300 Macaulay Rd, North Melbourne
Pre-scrutineering available on 14 October

  • Advance Bookings Required
  •   All Sessions Free to Attend  

GET INVOLVED in 2023

We want Queensberry Cup to be a celebration of our vibrant community.
The more people involved in it the better.
Please consider contributing in some way, whether as a billycart builder, volunteer, stallholder or sponsor.
Please note Performer Applications have closed for 2023.
Queensberry Cup

More than just a race! 

The Queensberry Cup is a street festival and a celebration of the diverse communities of North Melbourne and West Melbourne.

The festival reflects, celebrates and supports the local residents, businesses, students and workers of our dynamic inner city suburbs.

For one day, the main street is closed and turned over to a range of creative and cultural activities!


The Famous Village Dog Show

An old Spring Fling favourite! Local residents bring their dogs and participate in fun, light-hearted competition. Great prizes thanks to local pet shop Paw Principality. 

Prizes awarded for:

  • Best dog outfit

  • Best dog-owner dress sense

  • Best trick

  • Longest drool

Music & Performance Stages

Melbourne’s most exciting, eclectic, emerging and talented musicians, with grooves from across the globe, with host and poet Zainab Farah.

In 2023, we welcome Immy Owusu Ghanaian highlife fused with surf coast rock-n-roll; Gusto Gusto (pictured) foot-stomping music; Jason Coleman's Ministry of Dance stunning choreography; Jungle City Projects Jamaican dancehall & hip-hop; African Star Dance & Drumming High energy West African Rose Paez Colombian jazz; North Melbourne Primary School Parents Band cool indie rock covers; Sing NoW! Community Choir, Homebrew Verandah Singers, The Zaahoos, Vietnamese and Chinese dancers plus more to be announced.

World Kitchen Stage

Find out what’s cooking in your local community. See the food get prepared, hear the stories behind the cook and taste what gets prepared.

The World Kitchen explores food from all corners of the globe with cooking demonstrations that pay homage to home cooks. Eretrian cuisine, Vietnamese delicacies, bowls on a budget and more.

For The Kids

As well as the thrill of watching billycarts careen down Errol St., there is plenty for kids of all ages to get involved with.

Lancashire Lane is a kids’ own games alleyway. Cool craft, awesome art activities and a brain-bending book bonanza!

North Melbourne on Show

Our community has lots of great community organisations. Meet some of them at our community marquee, such as Hotham History Project, Ozanam House, Lort Smith Animal Hospital, North West Patch, West Melbourne Baptist Community Centre and more.

If you are a community group and would like to connect with the broader community, please join our community showcase.

Message from the Lord Mayor of Melbourne

North Melbourne’s own version of a Cup Day is a billy cart challenge like no other. Part race, part streetfestival, the Queensberry Cup is a joyful celebration of the diverse communities of North and WestMelbourne.

The City of Melbourne is proud to support a community festival that brings people together in this dynamicneighbourhood. Closing Errol and Queensberry streets for a day invites locals and visitors to enjoy a widerange of cultural activities.

Whatever pace you choose, I wish you a terrific day at the Queensberry Cup.

meet our 2023 sponsors

If you want to join this elite group for 2023, please get in touch
QUEENSBERRY CUP

congratulations to 2022 winners

The Centre

Queensberry Cup is presented by The Centre: Connecting Community in North and West Melbourne Inc.

The Centre is a not-for-profit incorporated charity situated in Errol Street in the heart of North & West Melbourne.

The Centre has now been in operation for 40 years and is proudly run by a loyal and committed team of volunteers and paid staff. Our members and clientele cover a diverse range of individuals and organisations exemplifying the richness of the local community.


Would you like to be involved?
Click Here
QUEENSBERRY CUP

Send us a message

Name E-mail Message Submit