The first thing visitors heard entering the Corryong Recreation Reserve over the past few days was the ear-piercing whips cracking; then the thundering hooves from the rodeo brought Aussie bush heritage to life.
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Thousands swept through the gates at the Man From Snowy River Bush Festival from Thursday, April 11 to Sunday, April 14, to get a taste of Australiana in the shadow of the Snowy Mountains.
It is where folk - locals and from afar - still relive the work of bush poet Banjo Paterson with a recreation of his famous poem.
But they also kick back to enjoy live music, listen to bush poets and entertainers, see bullock teams in action and watch some fierce horsemanship competition in the corral.
A highlight of the festival was seeing the first Will Harrison Memorial Horsemanship Award going to rider Milly Richmond. She was named on a shield created in honour of the much-loved stockman who died in January.
Family friend Brooke Arnold said last year she asked Mr Harrison to judge the stripling whip crack.
"He did that and he was fantastic," Mrs Arnold said. "Will won the juniors three years in a row - and now Milly has won the first shield made in his honour.
"We organised a perpetual trophy, which was a handmade whip and also a shield. We can continue with the Will Harrison award as long as we can throughout the festival.
"We want him to be remembered; he was a great cowboy, a great stockman and just a great friend."
Event chairman Cameron Jackson said since the woes of the 2019 bushfires and COVID lockdowns, the festival had returned "with a vengeance".
"Last night we did a count and then there's 10,000 people, around the biggest crowd ever, in that rodeo arena," Mr Cameron said.
"We've had a lot of campers but then we've had an extraordinarily high number of day passes purchased as well.
"On Friday, the re-enactment was magnificent, but there were easily more than 10,000 for the rodeo last night (Saturday).
"Everyone loves seeing the bucking stock, so the Xtreme Broncs here during the bulls and the bucking horses, that was pretty big.
"Anyone that comes here for one year knows they're not going to see it all so they come back year after year - it's hard to see it all in one visit, we've got 27 separate events.
"People come here to see the best of the best, absolutely magnificent riders."
Another organiser, Bev Thompson, said the spotless weather throughout the festival helped to draw the crowds.
"Overall it's been great, crowds been exceptional and the re-enactment went really well," Mrs Thompson said.
"People have been thrilled, day passes have sold out, it's been a smash."
Seven Victorian police, both local and seconded, attended on Sunday, with Sergeant Glenn Whyte from Shepparton saying the days-long event had gone off without a hitch.
"It's been an awesome turnout and everyone has been very, very well behaved," Sergeant Whyte said. "We've not had a single incident."
