When winter withdraws its icy fingers and spring breathes warmth and new life into the country, it is time to pull on your cowboy boots and get ready for action and excitement. The Rose and Rodeo Festival is the biggest event in the Warwick calendar and the most famous of its kind in Australia. Just over 77 years ago Warwick hosted its first rodeo and today, crowds in excess of 30,000 flock to Warwick each October.

The Friday night Carnival Spectacular heralds the beginning of the festival as it brings a collection of roving

performers, street entertainers and energetic renditions of non-stop entertainment. The street parade is a gala event filled with colour, movement and music.

A popular attraction is Australia’s oldest brass band, claiming 140 years of pizzazz, flair and toe-tapping music. Amongst the dust, dirt, thrills and excitement of the rodeo, the Warwick Shire celebrates the delicate fragrance and enchanting beauty of the queen of all blooms - the rose. Garden competitions and open gardens showcase the horticultural excellence of Warwick’s green-thumbed residents. Morgan Park is the place to be for horse events of all kinds throughout the year.

The Park is a world-class centre for polocrosse and eventing and is home to the Warwick Horse Trials Club, Warwick Polocrosse Club and the Carriage Driving Club. The Warwick District Sporting Car Club harnesses horsepower of a different kind and conducts motor sport events every weekend of the year on their 2.2-km sealed circuit track. Motor sports have a long and proud history in the Warwick Shire, beginning with the first Australian Grand Prix in 1949 at Leyburn. Today, Leyburn’s Historic Motor Sprint draws a crowd of over 17,000 people every August. The Warwick and District Dirt Bike Club have built a motocross track with large pit area, while the Warwick District Drag Racing Association has developed a 200-metre drag strip with a 550-metre secondary breaking area.