{"id":526007,"date":"2026-03-08T04:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T04:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526007\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T04:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T04:10:13","slug":"tumut-is-hoping-to-become-the-giant-pumpkin-capital-of-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/526007\/","title":{"rendered":"Tumut is hoping to become the giant pumpkin capital of Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Mark Peacock grew a Royal Easter Show-winning 407-kilogram pumpkin in 2024, he inspired his community in the NSW Snowy Mountains town of Tumut to take their gardening to a whole new level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We [thought we] should make this the giant pumpkin capital of Australia,” Tumut Show secretary Margaret Hillier said.<\/p>\n

“So that’s what we’re working on.”<\/p>\n

The show, which has been running for 151 years, has now created a new category in its produce section.<\/p>\n

\"Crowds<\/p>\n

Crowds gather for the pumpkin weigh-in at the Tumut Show. (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully)<\/p>\n

The giant pumpkin weigh-in saw 40 people plant a seed last year, aiming to grow an enormous vegetable.<\/p>\n

While growing conditions have been less than ideal, Ms Hillier said the dreams of growers in Tumut would not be squashed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“So far we’re failing dismally, but we’ll give it another go every year,” she said.\"Woman<\/p>\n

Margaret Hillier holding the giant pumpkin weigh-in trophy.\u00a0 (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully\u00a0)<\/p>\n

Chris Kobier took the challenge seriously.<\/p>\n

His goal was to grow a pumpkin big enough to paddle down the Tumut River, just like Mr Peacock did.<\/a><\/p>\n

“You can’t have the instigator winning all the time, I need to try and put up some healthy competition,” Mr Kobier said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Chris Kobier said he won’t stop trying to grow a pumpkin big enough to turn into a boat. (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully\u00a0)<\/p>\n

A bad season<\/p>\n

A horticultural scientist by trade, the reigning giant pumpkin champion is happy to help his competitors, offering support and even seeds from his previous prized pumpkins.<\/p>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

Mark Peacock is delighted the community has embraced his quirky hobby of growing giant pumpkins.\u00a0 (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully\u00a0)<\/p>\n

But a summer frost, followed by a heatwave, combined with high winds and scarce rainfall, meant most pumpkins will weigh less than 150kg.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There’s a million and one things that can go wrong, and this year, they did,” Mr Peacock said.\"various<\/p>\n

Community members have made pumpkin sculptures to compliment the giant pumpkin category. (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully\u00a0)<\/p>\n

But regardless of their actual weight, the giant vegetables are a source of public fascination.<\/p>\n

“I have not come across someone that doesn’t have a bit of a smirk or a smile when they see a giant pumpkin roll into the show or roll down the river for that matter,” Mr Peacock said.<\/p>\n

Snowy Valleys Mayor Julia Ham said growing giant pumpkins had brought the Tumut community together.<\/p>\n

“It’s a strange hobby, but there’s a science to it \u2014 it does strengthen a community,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

Two men, a big pumpkin and an idea to maximise fun have sparked a small cultural phenomenon.\u00a0 (Supplied: Grant Hardwick)<\/p>\n

“It also shows the competitive spirit of the community that yes, one person has done it, and they can do it better.”<\/p>\n

Councillor Ham said she would love Tumut to become known as the giant pumpkin capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’m beginning to think, where can we get the funding for a giant fibreglass pumpkin when you come into town?” she said.\"a<\/p>\n

Mark Peacock said the Tumut community has embraced giant pumpkins, including this chalk painting on one of the footpaths in town.\u00a0 (Supplied: Mark Peacock)<\/p>\n

Mr Kobier will enter this year\u2019s competition with his “disappointing” 80kg gourd.<\/p>\n

“We’ve moved to town about six years ago, so it’s nice to have something to make us feel a little bit part of the community,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It gets you out and about, [and] a little bit of skin in the game and wanting to see the show succeed.”<\/p>\n

But he is no stranger to heartbreak in the veggie garden.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Chris Kobier has learned some lessons when it comes to growing massive vegetables. (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully\u00a0)<\/p>\n

Last year, a soft spot developed across his pumpkin a week before the show, causing it to crumble.<\/p>\n

He said it would have weighed about 350kg.<\/p>\n

“It was quite the emotional journey \u2026 watching it slowly crumble, hoping that it’ll hold out long enough for the show, but it wasn’t quite the case,” he said.<\/p>\n

And while Mr Kobier is ‘”not the biggest fan” when it comes to eating pumpkin, he’s still determined to grow a giant one.<\/p>\n

“Oh, I still want to paddle a pumpkin” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Mark Peacock grew a Royal Easter Show-winning 407-kilogram pumpkin in 2024, he inspired his community in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[261686,261687,64,63,261688,261684,47019,44,261685,59221,261690,261689],"class_list":["post-526007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-ag-show","tag-agricultural-show","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-easter-show","tag-giant-pumpkins","tag-growing","tag-news","tag-pumpkin-boat","tag-tumut","tag-tumut-show","tag-vegetable-patch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}