https://2009.mmf.com.au

Silence Wedge has been an institution at the festival since the very start in 1991. Some years the Wedge goes for longer, some years for shorter. If this will be your first time at the festival, it is highly recomended that you don't miss Silence Wedge. It happens in the early morning, around 4am - 10am Saturday and 5am - 9am Sunday.

The fabulous Pink Flamingo Bar will Glow Pink Allnite and serve cocktails within certain hours to certain people over 18 with certain photo ID and certain manners and clean and tidy presentation. It's where particular people congregate.
We advocate the responsible consumption of alcohol at all times at Meredith. If you are under 18, you won't be able to drink alcohol, or enter any licensed areas. Simple as that.

This year The Flamingo has a ban on gratuitous use of the word "man", a distrust of anyone wearing rayon and bar staff have license to display outward contempt for any signs of social sycophancy. As usual costumes with elaborate headwear or militaria are celebrated, as is anyone arriving via motor launch or punt.

The Pink Flamingo is essentially a cocktail bar. It sells two cocktails - the Pink Flamingo (vodka, pink grapefruit, some other stuff) and the Bloody Meredith (popular on Sunday - vodka, tomato juice, celery, two eggs, roast chicken, two coffees and some lemon meringue pie). The Pink Flamingo is for over 18's only.
Regular Meredithians will perhaps not be suprised to learn that The Flamingo has changed hands yet again. It's a bit of a white elephant really! There's always some new wood-duck ready to blow their severance pay from Telstra on a 'cool' bar. (“no, but I've had a lot of experience on the other side of them...HAHAHAHAH”) Two years ago the main bar staff formed a co-operative and bought the leasehold, and the freehold. There were incredible stories of the whole team banding together and working nights and weekends to bring The Old Dame back to her former glory, stripping away years of bad renovations, and restoring superb architectural features like the parquetry dance floor, wrought iron circular staircase, and the marble portico. This idyllic, socialist working environment continued for weeks until a few minor squabbles about Brenda Ferguson's 'sore' leg escalated into yelling and slammed doors and dinners going cold and then it all turned to shit.

Last year the Flamingo was bought by Gisborne-based model train enthusiast Troy Chaplin. At the eleventh hour a falling-out with the electricians ("yes you can have three phase up here but there better not be anything that makes a choo choo noise buzzing past my head saturday night") lead to the poorest decor seen in years up there. Poor Troy! Had no idea really.

This year six former major-label record executives have grand designs on the bar. The masterplan is to start at Meredith to 'create a buzz' then hopefully the bar will 'go viral' then eventually they'll franchise The Pink Flamingo right around the planet with the eventual goal to set up a boutique casino version in Macau, replete with dancing girls (un)dressed as Flamingoes and pink champagne fountains and perhaps holograms of The Rat Pack pretending to chat up the women at the bar. Good luck boys.

The Pink Flamingo's location is at the back of the amphitheatre, just next to the International Food Court, on the fringe of the Top Paddock. You can see the stage easily from the front garden of the Pink Flamingo.

Here's the history of The Pink Flamingo:

1998 first opened as The Pink Flamingo Yacht Club Bar, with hosts Commodore Bahamas Lite and Commodore Pink Jazz.

1999 The Pink Flamingo Ski Lodge, with hosts Heidi and Klaus, included their famous Alpine Friendliness TM.

2000 The Pink Flamingo RSL, with bingo and bowls, and a Meredith Gift Honour Board. Run by committee.

2001 The Pink Flamingo Speakeasy and Cinema. Some of the films really messed with some of the patrons minds.

2002 The Pink Flamingo Bar. Shady, quiet and comfortable. And pink.

2003 The Pink Flamingo Bar. Provincial quail nursery and Swedish tennis fan face painting station.

2004 The Pink Flamingo Bar and Health-giving Mud Baths. Got a bit muddy.

2005 The Pink Flamingo Bar and Grill. Sunny skies, flippin' burgers.

2006 Giant illuminated Flamingo erected at entrance. Old Flamingo decor retired. Flamingo Workers Collective installed as new owners. A Saturday Night fever party for the Saturday Night and a one-dayer on the telly Friday Night to bring in the punters. The PubTab re-opened.

2007 Workers Collective falls apart when after arguments about Brenda Ferguson's “sore” leg. However much restoration was achieved, and the Flamingo was almost listed asa World Heritage Site.

2008 Gisborne-based model train enthusiast Troy Chaplin completes takeover. Secret plans to run miniature tracks around the walls cause falling-out with local tradesmen on the eve of the festival and Troy hasn't been sighted since.

Click here to watch edited highlights of The Gift from 1996 onwards.

THE WORLD FAMOUS MEREDITH GIFT

With special guest Giftmistresses The Town Bikes

The world's stupidest foot race, The Meredith Gift will be held on the Sunday afternoon of the Festival. The winner will take home the coveted Golden Jocks, as well as a case of cold beverages. Other prizes come courtesy of the generous sponsor of The Meredith Gift, Crumpler Bag Company. Crumpler are based in Melbourne and are currently looking after the bagging needs of the progressive modern human being, in a number of countries around the world.

Speaking of bags, the Meredith Gift is a completely nude sprint, of about 80 metres. See below on this page for The Rules. Anyone at the festival can enter (its free), as long as they are nude. It all started in 1992 when one of the bands was late to arrive on the Sunday. What do we do, we wondered. Have a race involving the patrons. Winner gets cold beer. Some guy wandered to the front of the stage as this was being announced and asked what he would win if he did it in the nude. MORE cold beer, of course. The following year the race was held again - as it was a talking point from the year before - and several people got nude, completely on their own accord. The year after we had to limit entry to only fully nude people, as there were so many people wanting to run. If you haven't seen a Meredith Gift, its pretty funny. It can be a bit confronting and tragic too, but mostly funny. There's always a crash, nude people tumbling along at speed, grass burns, injured penises, etc. You can watch some footage of previous Classic Gifts, which you can do by clicking here.

THIS YEAR - HIS AND HERS HEATS THEN A FINAL

This year there will be one heat for the gents and one heat for the ladies. There will be six Crumpler Meredith Gift bags strewn across the track near the finish line of each heat. The 12 competitors who grab a bag then go through to The Final. The Final will be run immediately after The Heats, and will involve those twelve successful bag-grabbers racing for The Golden Jocks as usual. The first lady to pass the post will take out The Golden Gussett.

THE TOWN BIKES

The Marvellous Town Bikes are an institution in their role as Special Gift Mistresses; taking registrations, issuing instructions, marshalling the runners and most wonderfully firing the starters pistol. Believe me, you will do what they tell you.

REGISTER

All competitors must register this year, by going to the Big Tree near The Gift Shoppe at 1pm and signing an Indemnity Form, then getting a stencil sponged onto their torso. The Gift runs at about 2pm Sunday.

HERE ARE THE RULES OF THE GIFT:

- Anyone at the Festival can enter.

- ALL entrants must be nude or underpanted.

- Gaffer tape can be used to fix the underpants to the buttocks, to prevent riding. 'Wedgies' are always welcomed and often amusing.

- Any competitor wearing Lycra will be set on fire.

- Spectators must stand well behind the sidelines unless they want to trip someone over.

- Competitors may NOT drive their car instead of running.

Past winners include

The Two-Bearded Man, Trevor and three time Champ Richo The Plumber, and Jarrod Red Cap.

Amateur footage of the 2008 Meredith Gift can be viewed here.

FREAK FILM COMES TO THE BUSH - OUTLANDS ECOPLEX CINEMA
There is a Giant Outdoor Cinema at Meredith, in a magical grove of manna gums, with the natural canopy high overhead just sparse enough for the twinkling stars to shine through. What shows? That would be stuff that turned left at the lights, planted the foot and ripped the rear view mirror off, and then ate it.

It's called the Outlands Ecoplex Cinema, and it sits at the edge of Bush Camping, in the area known as "Africa". It consists of a large 6m x 6m screen purpose built between two ancient eucalypts, a six-speaker Super-Sonorama surround audio experience (which when coupled with Ultravision 3D effects and glasses REALLY puts you in the picture), and the action (or inaction) is projected by vintage 16mm gear out of a 1978 Jayco SuperTourer Caravan (with annex). IN OPTICALLY ENHANCED ULTRAVISION!!! Only ULTRAVISION with SUPER-SONORAMA provides you that "you-are-in-the-middle-of-it-all" effect... Accept no substitutes!

(not available in indoor hardtop - type cinemas - exclusive to the Meredith Ecoplex...)

The posse that run the Ecoplex say this: “We swim the sewers of cinema now-and-past, to salvage unfamiliar objects of wonder and delight. Join us at the Ecoplex as we celebrate both new and misremembered (and damn strange of course) instruments of celluloid enchantment... PLUS: (YES!) A WHOLE BUNCH ELSE!!!... the usual garbage sandwich of idiot cinema that only a Mother could love... Destroyed animation, anti-social children's television, wrong media at its very best & worst.”

The Ecoplex runs basically all night, and is designed so you can drop in for a short or long while at any time – many of the films shown are indeed shorts so you don't need to set your watch for the start of a feature.

Click here for a look at what the hell was on at the Ecoplex last year.

The Meredith Eye is a big hit.

It's a 60foot high Ferris Wheel, positioned right at the top of the amphitheatre, at the start of the Top Camp, near the Pink Flamingo. The views are quite, quite spectacular; from the top carriage you are able to see back in time, and find your wallet that you lost in Year 9. Yes, you can see the artists performing on the stage, and everything else for about forty miles.

Rides will be about 10 minutes long and we think we will be $4* a ride.

*Big game fishing is not included in the price.

Sunday morning at 9am the amphitheatre becomes a giant Tai Chi class. Patrons and workers alike down tools and enjoy a demonstration by world-renowned Tai Chi expert Master Jin Song Han. Master Song first graced the Meredith stage back in 2002, when we picked the first name out of the phone book under “Tai Chi” and gave him a call. Turned out he was the former National Coach of China. Yes, he should bring his ceremonial weapons and give a demonstration. Yes, playing his music would be possible. No, he didn't need to bring a tape player.

Was a first-timer in 2007 and went real well. A GIANT laser show with lasers so powerful we needed to alert the Australian Aviation Authority to make sure no planes where in our vicinity at the time, as the lasers can interupt their navigation instruments.

The Sky Show will only happen when there's a show worth sky-ing. Plans for this season's Show are still on the drawing board. Might happen, but only if we dream right. The concept for last year's Show wasn't quite amazing so we took another year to refine it.

Southbank is another cluster of foodstuff issuers positioned to the South of the stage, on the bank of the Amphitheatre, hence the name. hahahahaha. More exotic tastes can be catered for down there. Southbank is also home to the city's Chinese community, which settled there during the Gold Rush. You can rent a Cyclo (rickshaw) for as little as ten pesos and see all the major sights, including the Resurrection Shuffle. Women are advised to observe local cultural practices by only walking backwards and hopping every third step. Anyone with a beard may be imprisoned.

The International Food Court will be operating 24 hours a day at Meredith this year. There are all kinds of inexpensive healthy and unhealthy food available here, ranging from pizza to Asian delights to Hare Krishna vegetarian delights to baked potatoes to hot chips to bacon and egg breakfast rolls to simple and delicious corn on the cob. Food at Meredith is inexpensive and we only allow vendors who sell good food at good prices to grace the Food Court.

Here you go...

Here you go...

Like most festivals, Meredith has a bar, called The Pink Flamingo Bar. Unlike most festivals, Meredith does have a BYO policy, and a bottleshop as well.

The Bottleshop (technically a Canshop as no glass is permitted on site) is open at these times:

Friday: 2pm-7pm tbc
Saturday: 12noon-5pm tbc
Sunday: closed

Patrons are able to BYO, as long as drinks are consumed responsibly and no glass containers of any kind are brought on site. Be aware that car searches do place at Reception upon entry to the festival and any glass is then confiscated without being replaced.

The festival strongly supports the responsible consumption of alcohol.

In order to gain access to the licensed areas patrons need to have photo ID with them. Showing valid photo ID will obtain the holder to a non-tranferable Over 18 wristband (in addtion to festival entry wristband). These wristbands are available at Heaven Eleven and at the entrance to the smaller bars.

Here you go...

Heaven Eleven is a 24-hour general store on site, selling milk plus eggs plus bread plus vegetables, toothpaste and flavoured milk. Margarine, beauty crème, condoms, personal items, torches, tent pegs, small pharmaceutical remedies, outboard motors and militaria. But mainly lollies.

Heaven Eleven is located at the entry to the Pink Flamingo Bar.

Gate Times
Gates open 9am Friday 11 December. Live music starts 4pm. Gates close at 4:30pm Sunday 13 December. There is no camping Sunday night.

Stage Times
Friday: 4pm – 4am
Saturday: 10am – 7am
Sunday: 9am – 3:45pm

Info Centre – J11
Open 24 hours
Answers many questions

First Aid and Police – i10
Open 24 hours

Bottleshop – J9
Friday: 2pm – 6pm
Saturday: 11am – 2pm
Sunday: closed

The Gift Shoppe – J10
Friday: 12noon – 11pm
Saturday: 9am – 11pm
Sunday: 9am – 4pm

EFTPOS / Cash out
Available from The Gift Shoppe

Vanessa the breath-testing station will be in the SportsField on Friday and Saturday. Check you are ok to drive before driving.
Free breath testing at Info Centre and Reception on Sunday. Take the far right exit lane to be breath-tested at Reception. Our thanks to the TAC for this marvellous idea.

Canbar (where the Bottleshop is) – J9
Friday: 6:30pm – 3am
Saturday: 2:30pm – 4am
Sunday: 12noon – 3pm

The Pink Flamingo Bar – K8
Friday: 3pm – 4am
Saturday: 10am – 5am
Sunday: 11am – 3pm

SportsField – H10
Open daylight hours. Get bats and balls from Vanessa.

The Meredith Eye – K7
Almost 24 hours, $5 per ride

Outlands Ecoplex Cinema – i13
Friday: 9pm – late
Saturday: 9pm – later

Massage – N10
Stressed, strung out or just plain over stimulated? RELAX!
9:30am – late

Heaven Eleven – K8
24-hour general store (in Heaven), at entry to Pink Flamingo Bar
Sells some things you forgot to pack. Open 24 hours.

Men’s Shoes – S16
Take elevator to third floor
Second on the left
Ask for Hanna

Showers – J8 & N8
Dawn to dusk daily.
Tokens available at the Showers and Heaven Eleven.
$3 for 3 minutes, $6 for 6 minutes, and so on.

Free drinking water – i10 & M10
In both Food Court areas. Open 24 hours. BYO plastic bottle or cup.

Festival gates close at 4:30pm Sunday – no camping Sunday night.

There are no market stalls at the festival. However there is a massage centre. To the far left of the stage in the Amphitheatre. A variety of massage techniques are available, but all have normal endings.

Meredith is a small town halfway between Geelong and Ballarat, 90 kms due west of Melbourne. A pretty, distinctly rural Victorian town, it goes about its business quietly below the foothills of the Brisbane Ranges. It was once a prosperous, bustling hub for the district, and the stop for the Cobb and Co coaches en route to Ballarat and the Goldfields. But a century After The Gold Rush (there was a band playing in my head), it was a town like so many others in the country - in slow decline.
One sweltering December afternoon in 1989, local farmer Jack Nolan rode his tractor through disused farmland at the back of his family's property. This part of the land hadn't been seen by humans for years - its steep hills and thick vegetation had rendered it unsuitable for grazing. At the end of a typically long day on the land, Jack had decided to go a different way home.
The consistent drone of the diesel engine disturbed the pristine environment. Through the bracken, over the granite, the hazy heat of summer began to play tricks with Jack's mind. He became dizzy and lost his sense of direction, the foliage became thicker and his trusty tractor started behaving like a spooked Horse. He ploughed through the bush, branches flying as the tractor sped up. With a resounding thump that scared the animal life for miles the flighty Massey-Ferguson stopped. Suddenly a sense of The Other-World overwhelmed him. He became instantly and totally hyper-aware of his surroundings. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and was amazed and exhilarated by what he saw. The heat-haze had cleared, so had the thick bush. Jack was atop a plateau, staring wide-eyed at the most beautiful sight. He had stumbled upon a natural amphitheatre of immense dimensions.
" Hmmmm", thought Jack. "Build a stage, whack a heap of bands on one weekend, provide free camping and cheap food and there could be a totally independent festival of great live music every year."
The MEREDITH MUSIC FESTIVAL was born.....

I really need to update this don't I. But so much happens each festival, it's hard/I'm too lazy to sum it all up.

1991 was the festival's first year. A small but die-hard core of several hundred culturalists enjoyed a weekend of pure musical indulgence, devoid of the hassles of city living. They parked their cars on the site, very excited after the hour-and-a-half road trip from Melbourne and pitched their tents. They revelled in the atmosphere of free living, bring-your-own and no curfews. No grotty carpet, no bar queues, no taxi fares home. Something was brewing.
There was about 250 pioneers in total at this first one. It seemed like they all knew each other. Some had flax-weaving skills whilst others were highly-evolved fossickers. A natural order formed, work got done and the Harvest was bountiful.

1992 brought a crowd three times the size. Word had spread, both organically (Peelie, Mouse, Raccoon) and with some fertilizer (Rexy). They flocked to see the rock, the roll, the jazz, the punk, the funk, the ska, and the stuff that's beyond description being thumped through the giant sound system, in the usually tranquil environs of the lush natural setting. But mainly they came to let their weekend sprawl itself out under the stars, with some truly wild things providing the soundtrack, and to be part of one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. Now here’s Lloyd with the weather. By this stage the interlopers had left for the high country and an easy peace settled on the district. The bodgies and widgies had never been happier, frolicking in the sculptured ancient ironbarks with the Monarch butterflies. It was just a two-day event at this stage, there were no pre-sold tickets, and a free breakfast was cooked on the BBQ on Sunday morning. By Willie.

1993 came around and this time the crowd doubled. This was the year, Meredith historians agree, that the Festival really pricked the consciousness of fun-lovers everywhere. Word of mouth brought people from Sydney, Adelaide, Tasmania and even from the heavens (two brothers flew in by helicopter, complete with esky and tent). A bigger stage, a bigger PA, the best bands around and that start-of-summer-excitement were the ingredients for two of the best days on the entertainment calendar. This was also the year that the World Famous Meredith Gift was conceived, due to Spencer P. Jones being late for his Sunday spot.
Camping started to get serious, this was the year the celebrated ‘Compound’ was formed ‘over the back’. The site had two distinct camping areas; the outer ring around the amphitheatre which was closest to the gate, and the hilly area over the back of the stage. The Compound was formed by a circle of cars and tents strategically arranged to deter would-be droppers-in dropping in so the high priests of a certain scene could relax unbothered. The Compound lasted many years, and from The Compound many a musician wandered down to the stage to play their set. The Compound made a huge and vital contribution to what Meredith was, and is. We salute you, The Compound. Is it still going? We know some of its constituents still attend Meredith, do they form a compound? Or has The Compound fractured? Please email Aunty Meredith if you know the answer.

1994 was another treat. Organisers were now being inundated with requests from bands to play at the Festival. The bill included several bands who have had great years since; Dirty Three, Magic Dirt, Spiderbait, Powdermonkeys (RIP), Fireballs and The Fauves to name a few. Anyone who witnessed the Dirty Three's soaring sonic emotions swirling around among the giant Ghost Gums or the Powdermonkeys seemingly never-ending incendiary rock workout at 3 in the morning got their money's worth. RIP Tim Hemmensley. This was another wild year on stage, where the bands on the lineup all seemed to form a perfect ‘set’.
One former Meredith organizer, The Raccoon, was talking to Tim Hemensley at a pub in 1995. The Racoon was making a bit of old chat, talking a bit about Meredith. Tim was barely paying attention, until Raccoon said off-handedly that the Meredith organisers planned to have a bit more variety on the line-up the following year. “Variety?” exclaimed Tim, incredulously. “Fuck variety”.

1995 hit and the organisers realised that the Festival was growing out of control. As a result tickets were limited for the first time, and sold on a first in, first served basis. There were no tickets sold at the gate. It sold out completely two weeks prior to the event. Tickets were $27. It was unfortunate for Festival regulars and for others who couldn't get a ticket, but organisers held firm. The site couldn't cope with many more people and plus, the grassroots, intimate and special appeal of the Festival needed to remain intact. The Festival has always been run under a policy of "better before bigger".
A dam had been put in, the stage was made bigger again and Leaping Larry L of RRR was installed as the host on the Sunday. Standout sets were put on by Magic Dirt, Rebecca's Empire, Spiderbait, Chris Wilson and Shane O'Mara, The Mark of Cain, Ricaine, Joel Silbersher and Charlie Owen, and the rain on Saturday was stopped by Combo La Revelacion, a 10 piece Latin-American band who inspired a 500-person conga line. Anyone who went to this Meredith or any of the ten after it would know what an impact Combo made at Meredith. They are perhaps the festival’s biggest hit, and yes they indeed went on to hold down a ten-year residency at the event. Thankyou Jorge, Moses and all in the Combo.
The two brothers discarded the helicopter that year and arrived in a 10-berth motor home, complete with colour TV and all other mod-cons. They parked out the very back and put on a Lebanese BBQ which was attended by everyone in their paddock. Close by a large group of fun-lovers from the Jan Juc area had set up their own bush discotheque, complete with mirror ball dangling from a tree and dozens of fancy-dressed groovers. It is rumoured that one young man from this group did not see any bands at all.

1996, and for a while there it looked as though there would be no Festival this year and maybe forever. Tragically one of the three founding organisers was struck by a catastrophic illness, and a decision was made to abandon the Festival. Offers of help came pouring in; the idea of an 'Indoor Meredith' was floated and then sunk, the local townspeople's generosity was unbelievable and after much soul-searching it was decided to go ahead with the Sixth Annual Meredith Music Festival as a private benefit and partial fund-raiser for it's sick founder.
1996's Festival was a beauty. The quality and diversity of bands stepped up a notch, as did the prizes in the Gift (an unconventional foot race where prizes double for nude or underpanted place getters). Tex, Don and Charlie provided a genuine highlight, as did Snout, The Dumb Earth, The Mark Of Cain, Paradise Motel, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Chris Wilson and Shane O'Mara and the many other first-rate local acts. The weather was fine, the facilities were better and again the Festival sold well in advance. ‘96 was one of Aunty’s favourite line-ups, again, it just had a certain balance to it; the lynchpin of which was Tex, Don and Charlie at Sunset (with Jim white on drums), which started slowly but soon won the hearts and minds of the crowd, whose cheering at the end of their set lasted many minutes after the band had left the stage.
Mulwaverly had taken up residence by this time, setting up camp in the same place every year, and bringing more and more elaborate structures to their camp. Their defining icon was a giant yellow ‘M’ taken from a MacDonald’s store. This was also the year someone brought a two-storey high inflatable dog, which they plugged in to some power at the back of the amphitheatre. It was self-inflating, so they must have enjoyed watching it slowly rise to tower over the crowd from their anonymous position in the crowd.
Another tradition was borne this year, one that came to be known as The Arch Of Love. The Arch was about seven feet tall, made of cane, and wide enough for one person to walk through. It was probably made to be a garden arch, or arbour. It appeared on the foot-track up the hill, and those sitting nearby enjoyed people either choosing to walk through it, or walk around it. It turned up the next year, but with new decorations, from memory a mass of plastic vines and pink flowers were threaded through the cane. It has been there every year since, in the same place, in different costume. One year it was present in a tailored leopard skin suit. This had nothing to do with the organisers; this was brought along by a patron, and it has become an institution at Meredith. A tradition sprung up that if two people walked under it they had to kiss. The Raccoon spent one afternoon doing some social studies; most women-folk would go out of their way to walk through it, most men would deviate from their path if they were on target to walk through it. Says a lot doesn’t it. Thankyou very much to whoever The Archkeeper is, please contact us via Ask Aunty Meredith: its about time we gave you Life Membership so you don’t have to worry about buying a ticket every year.
About this time a group broke away from the Pelaton and settled in the area, making earthenware pots and selling them by the roadside. Their business failed and they fucked off. Fair enough too. Who needs more pots.

1997 was another soldout event. The festival spread its wings a little and included more artistes from intestate. Jebediah made their way over from WA, Custard and Not From There came from Brisbane to play, Crow came from Sydney. The legendary X reformed and showed some young dogs some old tricks, and the return of Dirty Three from parts unknown was something to behold. It was also the debut of a couple of Meredith favourites - special guest MCs Merrick and Rosso, and the wonderful Matt Walker and Ashley Davies. Tex Perkins came back with The Cruel Sea to a great reception and the first electronic act, Snog played. Perhaps best on ground was the legendary underground offbeat big band Loin Groin; the memory of singer Craigo out in the crowd inciting a riot of dancing will live long in the memory. And I think it’s on film somewhere too. Better put that on a DVD sometime. Sometimes it’s the bands with songs on the radio that pull the crowd, but the ones that don’t have a record deal and have to move a crowd through sheer stagepersonship that win the day. That’s why you’ll often find bands with small following playing in Meredith timeslots usually reserved for popular bands at other events.
The Dumb Earth started Sunday morning in style, enjoying freshly made cocktails before starting their 9am set. So good they were invited back the next year.
Noota who draws the animal mascot each year came up with a frog for 1997. Each year there is some significance as to why the animal is chosen. And every animal must inhabit the site, be it indigenous or introduced. This was the first year we had a ‘water’ animal…frogs live in water. It poured with rain. We didn’t learn our lesson.

1998 saw a few innovations - the introduction of MEREDOOF - Meredith's late night beats-fest thumped till dawn and was a total winner. Breakdancing was witnessed by several thousand astonished punters - the Wickid Force Breakers put down the cardboard and spun on their heads (don't know the technical term). Honeysmack, Frontside and Slieker totally slaughtered the big MEREDOOF crowd.
This year also saw the inception of The Pink Flamingo Yacht Club Bar. Meredith of course couldn't possibly have just a beer tent, no, no, no. A swank, late-nite and all day bar on the hill which glowed pink all night complete with nautical decor, with your hosts Commodore Pink Jazz and Commodore Bahamas Lite. Musical highlights were very many and included Meredith’s first international acts: and what a way to start - San Francisco's The Make-up were just plain the best band in the world during their set. Joe Pernice was booked and advertised but cancelled not long before the festival; he is still the only artist to do so. The Meanies reformed and basically headlined to a very full amphitheatre who lapped it up. Wally fronted up on the Sunday with Even. Custard were great again, Sunday morning was a Gospel kinda thing with Kerri Simpson and Chris Wilson. Other notables were Something For Kate, Bodyjar, and Shihad.
The constant evolution of Meredith took a turn for the best this year, all the facilities, artists and décor lifted a substantial amount. The festival took a giant, fancy-pantsed step forward. Meredith was now in technicolour.

1999 and The Pink Flamingo was under new management. Klaus and Heidi turned it into the Pink Flamingo Ski Lodge and served cocktails with their legendary Alpine Friendliness ™. It's fair to say although the festival was again soldout and everyone had fun, strange weather meant a constant mood of expectancy hovered over the weekend. Or maybe it was just me. The weather will do that to you when you are actually out in it all weekend after six months of being stuck indoors mostly. International guests Cat Power and The Donnas were superb in different ways, Shihad rode the crest of popularity with a stupendous set, The Avalanches were a popular winner and Sixfthick nearly stole the whole show. A few things got a little wacky here and there over the course of the twenty acts. (Note to self - get more sleep before this year's event). Anyway, no-one seemed to mind too much. We set high standards here at Team Meredith.

Meredith 2000 was the festival’s tenth year, and the theme was ‘party like you’re ten’. Saturday night was just astonishing: Tim Rogers solo at sunset, Combo La Revelacion, Regurgitator, Spiderbait, Resin Dogs and then MEREDOOF. The Posies duo Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer got back together and made it to Meredith, and a heap more did as well, including Paul Dempsey, Augie March, The Fauves, John Butler Trio, Rocket Science, Testeagles, Porkers etc. Funny guys Dave Hughes and Greg Fleet cracked gags on the Sunday and The Gift was won by Richo the Plumber (three time champ).

Meredith 2001 was big. In the month preceding the festival the heaviest rainfalls in decades soaked into the site and come Saturday morning it was bedlam. Again, a water animal was the mascot – a duck. Still we didn’t twig. There are only two access roads and by midmorning both of them had become totally inaccessible, despite organisers having called in the excavators the week before to dig the sludge out and replace it with rock, in places to depths of six feet. Eventually everybody got in and there were almost too many highlights to mention, but we’ll try: Warped kicked off proceedings by arriving in front of the stage in a Valiant Charger and getting out, clambering up and rocking very very hard, particularly considering they had driven directly from Sydney to Meredith overnight. Loopy genius Bonnie Prince Billy eased out a sublime mid-afternoon set. John Butler Trio filled the amphitheatre in the late afternoon with their primal jam. Rocket Science made their Meredith hat trick and were one of the winners over the weekend; similarly Augie March exorcised some past Meredith demons with a sweet sweet hour just on dusk. Combo La Revelacion started their famous Latin party, again. TISM were TISM. Hilarious theatrics, hit tunes, hi-energy performance. You Am I started with a cover of Teenage Fanclub and rocked and rolled their way through one of the most Meredith memorable gigs of the whole 11 years. Dexter and Robbie from the Avalanches played a DJ set which turned the place into Party Central and really were pretty downright amazing. We think that will be the sort of gig where far more people will claim to have been there than there actually was; it was legendary before it had even finished. Wetmusik’s gents thumped out the last MEREDOOF to the delight of several thousand hard-core partiers. Sunday was cruisey; Tai Chi was a huge success just after breakfast and will become a Meredith constant. Silver Ray were wonderful, and Bob Log III, well, that was one of the best things ever. Anywhere. We loved him. The Dave Graney Show was ideal for a lazy Sunday afternoon, someone won The Gift and The Drugs kicked in just when everyone thought they'd had enough.

The Twelfth Annual event had to be moved to a new site, as the previous eleven Merediths had been held on a part of the Nolan farm that was Crown Land. So with barely six months to get their schtick together, organizers started getting their schtick together. Excellent, hard working nature lovers turned up from all over the country to help. In a display of the kind of Utopia this planet should be, it was all hands to the pump as the workers dug, cleared, planted, fenced, built, pathed, planned and enjoyed the new site. They lived in caravans, vans, tents, cars, and ate, worked, slept and partied on the site, through all kinds of weather and many an unforeseen setback. They did a great job. The 2002 Meredith was an astounding success. Where to start? The Meredith Eye arrived for the first time and was full the whole time. MEREDOOF went to sleep with the fishes and hip hoppers hipped and hopped in its place. Meredith was open on Friday night for the first ever time – about 3000 people took advantage of the early entry to set up a great campsite and enjoy some fine performances, including Snout’s last ever one, plus Dallas Crane and Dead Moon. There were some amazing artists – Bob Mould, Sleater-Kinney, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Lisa Miller, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and about the best 90 minutes of live groove ever seen in the bush – Resin Dogs. The Supernatural Amphitheatre was a bit dusty, which made a mockery of the soggy conditions the previous year (cruel Mother Nature, why do you taunt us so?) but it didn't matter after a while. Organisers were inundated with compliments for the new site, their favourite one being “it’s just like the old one”. The Archkeeper found a good spot for The arch of Love on the new site. Mulwaverly were invited in first to pick themselves out a new home. Basically the layout was the same as the old site but in reverse, so it was a bit weird for those of us that were so used to the old one – it seemed like exactly the same place but everything was left handed.

Meredith 2003 showcased one of the organisers all-time favourite line-ups. The flavour changed a bit from the year before. In 2002, for the first year on the new site, plenty of old school rock and roll was in evidence. In 2003, more gentle elements were in evidence; the sublime pop of The Shins, just before they won the hearts and minds of the alterna-pop world, the hippety-hoppetty rambling poetry of Buck 65; plus The Sleepy Jackson, The Brunettes, Clare Bowditch, Augie March with a horn section at sunset, and Architecture In Helsinki. Having said that, two of the most supreme rock and roll heavyweights in music history delivered knockout sets: Radio Birdman and Beasts of Bourbon. Plus McLusky came over from Wales and became one of Meredith’s favourite bands, to this day. Warped turned into uber-Warped on the Friday night, and several newish locals made impressive debuts; Treetops, Ground Components, Spod, Curse ov Dialect, Riff Random.
After the intense heat and dust of the year before, it was a decidedly cooler and drizzlier Meredith, but sometimes that aint a bad thing. There were about 9000 people on site, and it felt like a family.
The Outlands Ecoplex Cinema made its first appearance, and for the next few years became the underground hit of the summer.

Meredith 2004. Well. What can you say? Those that survived Tropical Meredith know what went on. The most eventful, astonishing Meredith ever. It featured, and will always be remembered for, the Dirty Three playing in an electrical storm. The whole district got pounded by a Hundred Year Storm. The festival was very, very nearly wiped out. Cancelled. Finished. It hit hard on the Friday Night – you could see the black clouds gathering in the North, occasionally issuing lightning strikes in the near distance. Then it gathered momentum and headed straight for the site, the temperature dropped and the wind got up so fiercely Jack Nolan said he hadn’t seen weather like it, and he’s been on that land for over 60 years. Then the most brutal storm hit the site - sideways, pelting rain, cyclonic winds that flattened tents, broke trees in half, pulled over fences; gigantic electrical activity in the skies…it was biblical. So much water had come out of the skies so quickly that rivers – torrents in fact – started to carve out gullies and ravines on the site. It was a tad full-on for our liking.
Then something remarkable happened again – the storm moved on, leaving everyone on site to assess things – everyone was ok, the show went on – in fact the bands played on (thanks the redsunband). But then the storm changed direction, spun around, came back and pounded us again, every bit as hard save for the wind. It was incredible. Anyway….by the Saturday the sun was out, everyone was in a good mood and looking forward to yet another Meredith. The storms started brewing again, and gathering in the same place as the night before, we started getting radio reports of nearby towns having to sandbag to stop the streets getting washed away…the anxiety and tension was again at a maximum, just when Dirty Three took the stage. Again, the temperature dropped, and a little drizzle started, but SOMEHOW the storm literally split in half and passed either side of the site, so the crowd could see the storm at sunset, but not be part of it. Witnessing the artists who have no peer when it comes to live expression, in the surrounds of the Supernatural Amphitheatre, ten years and one day after they first did so a gigantic backdrop of forked lightning which lit up the whole district…well…what can you say?
Apart from the Dirty Three, highlights including Hilltop Hoods who had one of the biggest crowds ever assembled in the Supernatural going crazy, and Spiderbait, Ground Components, Young Heart Attack, Wolfmother, M Ward, Dexter, The RedeYes, and well, just about everyone.
On the Sunday, just before the Gift, a man named J.K entered the amphitheatre to a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. He took the stage to a hero’s welcome. Why? Because he’d just run 210 kms from Langwarrin to Meredith. In the nude. JK had been the runner-up in the Meredith Gift twice, he fell over while in the lead in another, and finally won it the year before only to have been stripped of the title after claims of a break. Hi story made the daily papers, the sports bulletins of the national TV news, and we had regular reports in the days leading up to his arrival that he was on schedule to arrive on the Sunday. Big ups to Bill who played Chariots Of Fire through the PA as JK entered the arena, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. 2004 was a magic year in the history of Meredith.
Big ups to all the crew for toughing it out, also to the people who came up offering to help. Special mention to Alby, Mick, Quicky, Hoges and all the sparkies for hanging tough when the going got biblical. Likewise Chrisso and the Reception Committee, and Andrew and the Secure Forces. Jesus it was scary. The Raccoon’s first child was born on the Friday; about the time Peelie learnt he was to be a father. A magic year.
And yes, after 2004, when we realized we’d chosen another water animal as mascot – the turtle – the game was up. No more water animals.
2005 came around and the first thing that should be said is that after the terrible weather of 04, had the finest weather the festival had ever enjoyed across all three days. Maybe as a result of the 04 rains, people brought more elaborate camping set-ups, more furniture, more tarps, and more cars. Everyone turned up earlier than ever before, and stayed later on the Sunday. So it was a busy Meredith. Many thought it was the best Meredith ever, but it did feel awfully…easy…after the emotion of the previous year.
Not that anything went wrong, in fact everything went right. The mirror-ball cow that got rustled the year before sepnt the weekend swingin’ in the breeze. Skipper, James, Rob and The Lighting Dept out-did themselves. Out of ten, Aunty Meredith gave them 1.5 million. They had turned the site into a wonderland. A Royal Tennis Court was built near the vicarage and the vast field of canola were harvested and made into fine canoli. 2005 was the first year without our General Manager of several years, Stoopin’ Benny Sideways, our resident canoli-eatin’ champeen. Coooommme baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack Ben, coooome baaaaack.
Meredith FM was installed; on a certain FM frequency within several miles of the site patrons could tune into a broadcast of the acts on stage. So you could listen whilst in your car on the way, or at your campsite. I’m sure it’s illegal. Very handy foir traffic updates though, via our Eye in The Sky Kristie.
Musical highlights included Blackalicious, who could only play on the Sunday due to their touring schedule, King Marong, Matt Walker and Ash Davies (in fact it was my fave Sunday ever), Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Sons and Daughters, Wolfmother, Airbourne, Cut Copy, Peeping Tom, The Grates, and perhaps best on ground at the mystical 2am Friday timeslot: You Am I, in form. Again, the highlights were too many to mention. The Mystery Act was tried in 05, Mr Bob Log III flew all the way from Tucson Arizona to be that guy. He fell victim to the expectations…by the time the event came round, folks were expecting The Beatles to reform and play at 10pm Saturday night. He put in the most committed, action-packed rock and roll performance you could wish to see and won many new hearts. Thankyou Bob.
True live were on the best things on site; animal, vegetable or mineral.
A giant circus tent was installed by a troupe of Brazilian clowns (true story), which provided shade, shelter, warmth, and massages. It was called Heaven. A 24-hour convenience store was set up inside called Heaven Eleven. Dry cleaning was available on the third floor.
Everything went extremely smoothly. Notes to self for the following year included update the recycling system, reducing the crowd size by about a thousand, and
2006 is coming around fast. Over the past few years, those that live and work on the site in the months before and after the event have been watching a family of wedge-tailed eagles not far from camp. They have built a nest, and the crew have watched in awe as the chicks have hatched and learnt to fly. As you may know, Wedgies are huge, huge birds of prey, and throughout the year the adult birds can be seen Circling High and Wide above the site. So this year’s mascot? The wedge-tail eagle. Reggie The Wedgie.
2006 was Meredith’s sixteenth year. It was unreal.
2007 came and went. another corker.
2008 - gee what a terrific festival that was.
I really need to update this. Sorry.

Here is some of what was said about Meredith 2009.

The Age – Joys of Meredith madness – by Patrick Donovan

The Age – Photo Gallery – by Jason South

The Vine – Meredith Music Festival 2009 – reviews, notes and observations – by Marcus Teague

The Vine – Live Review – Meredith Music Festival 2009 – by Andrew Crook

The Vine – Photo Gallery – by Tim O’Connor

Faster Louder – Meredith Music Festival @ The Supernatural Amphitheatre – by grattan

Faster Louder – Photo Gallery – by invadercee

Undercover – Meredith 2009, The Undercover Wrap – by Haylee Cashmere

Undercover – Photo Gallery – by Damien Loverso

Mess + Noise – Meredith ’09: “I Think I’m Going To Die” – by A.H. Cayley

Mess + Noise – Photo Gallery – by Kristy Milliken

Triple J – Photo Gallery – by Cara Bowerman

ABC Victoria – Meredith Music Festival 2009: the paddock that rocked – by Jarrod Watt

The festival has a team of 'Helpers' roaming through the Amphitheatre and Campgrounds at all times. These wonderful people are loaded with information about the festival. They help people find their tents, their friends, their way. They constantly look for people who might need a hand eg have had too much to drink, are unwell, not warm enough, too hot, lost, upset etc, and they do whatever is needed to fix things up. They also distribute recycling and garbage bags to campsites and pass on the good word on our recycling and green practices, without any overt missionary-type zeal.

The Helpers often have a background in First Aid or Event Management, though they are not part of the Medical Centre itself. Helpers can be spotted in those emergency services style flouro vests with HELPER on the back. Do you think all the emergency services and truck drivers etc who have to wear flouro are happy or sad that the 'flouro' trend is over?

Anyways. Helpers are unreal. We love them. Thanks Helpers. Another superb thread in the fabric of Meredith society.

Here at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, we want you to have the best possible time. The time of your life. The right time. We also want your friends and the people around you to have a great time too. This can of course absolutely be achieved without the use or abuse of alcohol or drugs. So…don’t stuff up your weekend or that of your friends by being reckless, eh? Please be aware that although Meredith may feel like a sovereign dominion (her own country), the usual laws apply within the festival boundaries as they do outside them. Perhaps more importantly, the laws of the human body are likewise no different there than anywhere else. If you are intending to take drugs or drink alcohol, please do take these things into consideration:

• Rest and rehydrate. The festival goes for three days – pace yourself if you want to enjoy it all. Take regular drinks of water.
• Mixing alcohol and drugs greatly increases the possibility of overdose or accidents, as does mixing two or more drugs, even if taken hours apart.
• Do not use drugs on your own. If you are feeling unwell – tell someone.
• If you or someone near you is feeling unwell, alert our staff, or security, or the Medical Centre (opposite info – to the far right of stage) immediately. Please also be aware that if you or a friend has taken drugs and is in need of medical attention the medical staff are not obliged to involve the police. So do not be afraid to go to the Medical Centre. The medical team is not here to judge you, there are here to help you – be honest with them.

We are asking you to help – if you see someone who is obviously unwell – please alert our staff immediately. We have a team of dedicated Helpers roaming the festival keeping an eye out as well.

EMERGENCY SYMPTONS INCLUDE
• Feeling hot, cold or just unwell
• Fainting / collapse
• Stomach cramps
• Severe headaches
• Becoming confused or irrational
• Having trouble breathing
• Falling asleep / losing consciousness
• Convulsions / having a fit

If you or someone near you is experiencing these symptoms, get them to the Medical Centre or alert festival staff ASAP. We recommend you have a good look at the map in this program, familiarise yourself with the location of First Aid, and mark your tent location. There are some poles in the campground that have the map reference points on them.

Thanks, it’s much appreciated

Festivals at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre have a No Dickhead Policy.

Essentially this is a self-policing policy whereby 'the dickhead' is not celebrated at the festival. Dickheads or people invloved in dickhead behaviour will usually find that a solid citizen will firmly but politely inform them that their dickhead behaviour is not admired or appreciated. The Dickhead will usually realize they are being a dickhead and pull their head in. If not, our Helpers or Staff or even Security might make a discreet intervention.

So if you are a Dickhead, this festival isn't for you.

It's ok to bring small chairs and low couches into The Amphitheatre itself.

It's certainly not ok to bring in anything that blocks or impedes the view of people behind you. These things are completely banned from being in the Amphitheatre. They are fine to be at the campsites, but they can't be anywhere that has a view of the stage.

BANNED FROM THE AMPHITHEATRE:

Couches or seats on stilts or raised platforms (i'm looking at you, sofa-bed-with-extended pine-legs man)
Stools
Gazebos
Shade tents
Any furniture higher than, say, the belly-button height of your average Joeline.

If noise from your campsite is bothering your neighbours, at any time during the festival, you will be asked to turn it down. If you don't turn it down, you will be evicted and/or your campsite will need to move to the outer-most part of the campgrounds.

This may come as a shock to some people, but other festival-goers don't attend the Meredith Music Festival to be 'entertained' by your personal music taste. Not at 4 in the afternoon and certainly not at 4 in the morning. Absolutely you can play music at your campsite, but absolutely not can it annoy your neighbours. That means it will need to be kept pretty low, as there are no walls out there. You know what I mean?

To put it as delicately as we can...don't blast your stereo in the campground you attention-seeking fuckwit.

The Hotcakes Stall is located up the back of the Amphitheatre. By the time the festival opens it is always sold out, proving the old adage true.

Click here for a printable PDF of the Site Map

The Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre is situated on the edge of a farm, about 90 kms due West of Melbourne, halfway between Geelong and Ballarat, and about twelve kms from the nearest town (Meredith).

The venue is a spectacular, permanent site, set up specifically for both the Meredith Music Festival and her sister festival Golden Plains. It has been purpose-built and continually-refined using 19 years of collective know-how to provide a premium experience for performer and patron alike.

It is a 2 ¼ hour (135 minute) drive from Melbourne CBD or Melbourne Airport, and a 1 ¼ (75 minute) drive from Avalon Airport.

The stage is nestled in a grove of giant ghost gum trees, with a natural amphitheatre bowling up around it, crowned by an arc of gigantic cypress trees. There a feeling of spaciousness - it's a huge site - you can easily find some peace and quiet if you choose. You can also easily see and hear the artists on stage from anywhere in the Supernatural Amphitheatre. It's a magic set-up.

Top Camp is the camping ground closest to the action; closest to the amphitheatre and stage, closest to the food area, toilets, Pink Flamingo and The Meredith Eye. Top Camp is also the largest camping ground on the site; it is a massive green field with gentle dips and hills; a few rock piles, trees, ring roads, native planting areas, and is governed by a Blue Gum crop to the East and Cypress rows to the South. Top Camp is so big you should be able to camp well away from your neighbours (if you choose to). It is divided into suburbs - Ringwood, Eltham, Hong Kong etc - so you can find your tent easily enough. The native plantings - gums, acacias, she-oaks - have thrived since they were put in a year ago and as such there's more greenery and windbreaks up there.

Over time Top Camp will be ‘planted out' to become like a vast Bush Camp - with groves of SheOaks, stands of gums, maybe the odd circle of blackwoods and a corridor or two of Acacia.

The Pines (North Pines, South Pines) are on the South boundary of Top Camp. They are two perpendicular rows of Pine Trees which intersect to form a giant "T", thus creating two pockets of sheltered camping. The North pocket (North Pines) has been open for many years, whereas the South pocket (South Pines) is only a few years old. These campsites are the furthest away from the action and will be pretty quiet and peaceful. Both are protected on two sides by thick rows of Cypress Pines, so they provide excellent shelter, depending on the direction of the wind. The coldest wind is the southwester, North Pines and South Pines provide good shelter from it.

The other aspect of Pine Tree Corner that many will find appealing is the panoramic vista. Man! From the other side of the trees, you sit high on a ridge, looking West to wide open plains that extend for miles and miles, a huge pine plantation, a disused gold mine, and stunning sunsets. It's a great spot, and those Meredith-goers who liked sitting in a quiet field watching the sunset are in for a total treat.

The campgrounds are populated similarly to any city; the inner city is the most densely populated, with most campsites being smaller. The further away you go, the more land you have, and the closer to the wide open spaces of the countryside you get. South Pines, for instance, seems like its furthest from the action, but like so many outer suburbs, its got a direct arterial road and footpath to the inner city, and as such its easy to get to. And the blocks are bigger. And the views are amazing. And as we all know, the suburbs ain't any straighter than the inner city.

Bush Camp is located North of the stage area, and is a secluded and unbelievably pretty camping ground. Gum trees, she-oaks, ferns and other indigenous flora have existed untouched for as long as anyone can remember, and we have carefully laid down a track through this land, with minimum disruption to the eco-structure. This will be quiet, sheltered camping. You are basically in the bush. It will be hard for large groups to stake out large sites in this area due to the vegetation and the single ring-road. The two roads that go through Bush Camp are called The Ring Road, and The Ring-a-Ding-Ding Road. This area is also a fair distance from the Amphitheatre, although it is fairly close to both the Food area, Pink Flamingo and of course toilets, First Aid and other services. Around 30% of Meredith-goers will be able to camp in The Bush before it is full, so it is likely to be popular with the early arrivals.

YURTS ARE BACK!

We have an excellent supplier of quality Mongolian Yurts. Yurts, or “gers”, are large round sturdy tent-like structures. These wonderful homes have stood for centuries in Mongolia and the like, are hand-made from canvas, timber and felt and keep cool on hot days and warm on cool days. They sleep 6-15, are lockable, comfortable and are available for hire at Meredith Music Festival. They will be already set up so just arrive and move in for the weekend. To make an enquiry or book a Yurt please email Saatia or call her on 0434 539715. They were very popular last season and sold out quick.

Click here for info on Reception.

Think of the Info Centre as the Concierge Desk of the festival. Our well-trained staff are there to answer any question, and ask a few of their own. This font of all knowledge is of course open 24 hours. It's located to the far right of the stage in the Amphitheatre.

The Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre prides itself on having world's-best-practice toilet facilities.

If you were to ask festival-goers about Meredith's toilets you'll find their answers are a very pleasant surprise. The festival is renowned for having plentiful, permanent, private, well-designed-and-built waterless composting toilets.

There are several blocks of these around the site. Two main blocks of about fifty loos each are located either side of the Amphitheatre, then four more sets are located in convenient spots in the campgrounds.

The toilets use no water at all, and the waste is treated on a remote part of the site (rather than being carted away) according to strict Australian Standard guidelines until eventually it becomes safe and useable compost. Brilliant.

Uncle Doug and Stu the Groundskeeper have built a permanent, excellent shower facility. In fact they have built two. One is next to the Pink Flamingo (on the Bush Camp side) and the other is on the other side of the Amphi, right up the back. They are completely private, sheltered, eco-friendly installations, and provide steaming hot water (or cold if its hot) from lo-flo yet good pressure shower heads. The shower facility is brand new and clean as a whistle and has many terrific and user-friendly features. It is open during daylight hours, and costs $3 for each 3 minutes of use. Our attendants will be on hand to provide coin change for you and biodegradable soaps and shampoos which help the waste water re-enter the Earth with a minimum of fuss. Good on you Uncle Doug, you wily old faux-plumber.

Sunset Strip is located at the western tip of Top Camp. It’s (derr) a strip from which you can view the Sunset. However it was not directly named after the famed LA landmark, it was named for the 80s/early90s Melbourne wild country rock band, whose singer completed a whole song at Meredith in 1991, thought to himself "gee that went well", looked at the set list and discovered he'd just played the song that was next on the list, whilst his band had been playing the previous song at the same time. They were all too 'lost in the moment' to realize.

For those who don’t live in the country or have regular access to immense, panoramic views of the sun setting without a building in view right through to the horizon, well, Sunset Strip is worth a looksee. Apart from the vast sky and fading pastoral views, there’s a couple of haysheds and a deserted gold mine in the distance, and that’s all. Someone once told me that looking at a setting sun somehow releases lithium into your system. Lithium is (or was) sometimes used as a medication to calm down people who were manic. Dunno if that’s true or not. If you are some kind of medical expert, feel free to set me straight.

Becoming Meredith’s best-kept secret, if a secret is something you can become. Inspiration Point is a rock garden just beyond the fringe of Southbank. It’s nice. Secluded. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the odd slippery handjob took place there.

Will be in operation this year. Daylight hours. It’s free, get bats and balls from Vanessa The Breathtester. SportsField is comprised of dozens of totem tennis sets and a few badminton courts. Sometimes groups of people dress up in olden days sports costumes for this. There is no white water rafting on the SportsField.

This Supernatural tradition was borne circa 1997, and came to be known as The Arch Of Love. The Arch is about seven feet tall, made of cane, and wide enough for only one person to walk through at a time. It was probably made to be a garden arch, or arbour. It appeared in the middle of a footpath through the Amphitheatre during the '96 or '97 Meredith festival, nobody really knows why. To the quiet amusement of patrons nearby, people had to choose to either to walk through it, or walk around it, as it was slap bang in the middle of a busy footpath. It turned up the next year, but with new decorations - a mass of plastic vines and pink flowers were threaded through the cane. It has been there every year since, in the same place, in different costume. One year it was present in a tailored leopard skin suit. The Arch has nothing to do with the organisers; it is brought along by a private citizen, and it has become an institution at Meredith. A tradition sprung up that if two people walked under it they had to kiss. The Raccoon spent one afternoon doing some social studies; most women-folk would go out of their way to walk through it, most men would deviate from their path if they were on target to walk through it. Says a lot doesn’t it. Thankyou very much to whoever The Archkeeper is, we did spy him one year taking The Arch out of the boot of his nondescript 80's white Japanese hatchback.

There are roads, these are for vehicles, don't park any part of your vehicle on them. Don't "trick" yourself into believing that having only two wheels off the road means you aren't parked on the road - you are. Get the whole thing off, otherwise the camping marshalls will deem you a fire hazard (which you are) and have you towed away and impounded.

The internal roads have been made and built up and strengthened each year to withstand the bi-annual onslaught of weather and traffic. Are you still reading? This is one boring topic. What's next, fences? zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Paths - there are footpaths through the campgrounds. They will help you find your campsite. How about that! Amazing innovation. What design WIZARDS we are. Surely this can't survive as a topic. Enjoy this info now cos it won't last.

The festivals have a deep and abiding commitment to doing the right thing by the land. As it is essentially a temporary city that sets up for the weekend, the opportunity is there to create a microcosm of how a society might become more sustainable.

Green practices at the Supernatural Amphitheatre aren't shouted from the rooftops, they are just DONE, so that the festival-goer actually lives in the green system for the weekend and experiences everything first-hand.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the festivals green policies are the composting toilets. Uncle Doug designed and built over 100 permanent, waterless, composting toilets, to exacting Australian Standards. We trialed a few of them in 2006, and by early 2008 had over 100 in operation in two permanent banks. What a hit! Never have we had such incredible reaction to a facillity on the site. Basically, everyone loves them. They don't smell, they don't use water, and the end result can (after a year or so) be used to feed the land. They are user-friend-ly and enviro-lover-ly - they are private, clean, and waterless; plus no pumping or transport is required. And, in twelve months time with some sophisticated but simple treatment they create perfectly safe compost to use on the site. WINNER!! Our thanks also to Natural Event. Over the next two years all remaining portaloos on site will be replaced by the composting toilets, or eco-loos.

EVERYTHING that comes out of a food stall can be recycled or composted. And EVERYTHING that gets put into bags or bins before, during and after the festival gets sorted in the on-site sorting station, then subsequently divided into the appropriate stream.

Much more too, we'll post that all up soon enough.

Click here for info about the Police Station at the festival.

The festival has an excellent Medical Centre onsite, located to the far right of the stage. It is open at all times that the festival is on. Do not hesitate to go there if you or your friends (or strangers) are unwell. The medical centre staff are not there to judge to report you, they are there to help get you well as soon as possible. If you have a medical condition you think we should know about be sure to talk to the medical centre staff when you arrive.

Meredith the town is about 12kms from the festival site. It has two pubs, a cafe, a servo and a General Store amongst other things, like a nursery and a small real estate office. To get to the festival from town turn off the Midland Highway (Staughton Street) at the Royal Hotel and go past Hearn's Hotel till you get to the corner of Nolan Road. That's about it there.

The Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre is in the Golden Plains Shire.

The Community Tucker Tent is a food stall selling all sorts of hot foods and has been an institution at the festival since the mid 90's. The Tucker Tent is organised, managed and staffed entirely by volunteers from many local community groups. Profits go to those community groups, as well as a portion going to ongoing health care and welfare of festival co-founder Chris Nolan, for which he and his family are very grateful.

The Tucker Tent is located in the International Food Court, and is famous for it's hot breakfasts. By now they must have made over a million bacon and egg rolls I'd reckon. Maybe a trillion, who knows. Great stuff.

They also do Breakfast in Bed - watch out for utes in the campgrounds ferrying hot food and coffee to those lazy blobs who can't be bothered going to the Food Court.

Mobile phone coverage has improved dramatically in recent years at the festival. A certain monolithic national telecommunications company instals a temporary tower just for the festival which enables users of that particular network to get reception as though they were in the CBD. So that's nice.

However, don't rely on mobile phone coverage, particularly if you aren't using the Telstra network. Also remember you don't have access to power out there so bring spare and charged batteries and maybe a car charger kit. And maybe a car too.

Salt of the earth. Best people you could possibly meet.

The Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre is located mostly on the Nolan farm. Chris Nolan founded the Meredith Music Festival with Marcus Downie and Greg Peele back in 1991. Actually they founded it in 1990 but didn't get it together to put the thing on until '91.

Jack and Mary are Chris' parents and remarkably they agreed to have the festival - which in the first year was just an end-of-year party for Chris and his friends - at their property, near the family home, on the farm. What good parents!! And here we are, a couple of decades later and it's still going and they are still happy to host the now world-renowned festival. Cripes.

Jack's grandfather planted the giant Cypress pine trees that crown the Amphitheatre. He planted them about 60 years ago as " a place for the birds to be when I'm gone". Not sure what ol' grandfather Nolan would make of the sights and sounds below them trees these days but quite possibly he'd approve.

Bush Camp, a particularly popular campground at the site is brought to you by the Meredith Dairy. The land is Land for Wildlife, and the Cameron Family of Meredith Dairy fame (it's just up the road from the festival) are pleased to allow festival-goers to enjoy it each year. We are extremely grateful to them. Unbelievably great cheeses they make too, world-renowned. Enjoyed by cheeselovers from Ballarat to Manhattan.

The Pocket Companion is a downloadable booklet which contains all the info you need to Make Your Meredith. Maps, directions, campground layout, playing times, rules, hours of operation, handy hints and an illistrated history of the outboard motor and a Redbook-style price guide to second hand militaria.

The festival is located at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, on Mt. Mercer Road, near a town called Meredith, in Victoria, Australia. Meredith the town is halfway between Geelong and Ballarat on the Midland Highway (A300), about 90kms due West of Melbourne. By car from Melbourne CBD it is usually a 110 minute drive, however you should allow 2-and-a-half to 3 hours on the Friday of the festival. Melway Map: 611 C4. The festival can also be reached by public transport.

The venue is the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, on Mt. Mercer Road, near a town called Meredith, in Victoria, Australia. Meredith the town is halfway between Geelong and Ballarat on the Midland Highway (A300), about 90kms due West of Melbourne. By car from Melbourne CBD it is a 110 minute drive, however you should allow up to 3 hours on the Friday of the festival. Melway Map: 611 C4. The festival can also be reached by public transport.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS
From Melbourne, take the Princes Fwy to Geelong. Just before you get to the Geelong CBD veer right onto the new Geelong Bypass (M1) following the signs to Colac. Take the Midland Highway (A300) exit (it's a left hand exit ramp). Turn right onto the A300 and head towards Ballarat for about 40klms. At Meredith, turn left at the Royal Hotel, this is Mt. Mercer Rd. The Meredith Music Festival is a 13klm drive along this road; on the Friday of the Festival this might take up to 60 minutes as there are holding bays to ensure safe and steady traffic flow.

Click here for a printable PDF of the Site Map.

No matter what the forecast is – BRING WARM AND WATERPROOF CLOTHES as well as the slip slop slap stuff. For a guide forecast to Meredith’s weather, click here. (http://www.eldersweather.com.au/vic/central/meredith) . If the forecast shows the possibility of any rain at all, good quality raincoats, boots, jumpers and spare clothes will all be good essentials. Please wear sensible shoes – the #1 treated injury on the St Johns Ambulance Hit Parade is cut feet.

It can get very cold at night - even if it's sunny and hot during the day. Always pack extra blankets and doonas and even thermals are a good idea.

Bring These Things

* DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO GET THERE.

* YOUR TICKET (wristband). Double-check you have it now. Put it on as you leave to go to the festival.

* SOMETHING TO SLEEP IN eg a tent. Don't forget the tent pegs. If you drive, you can park the car next to your tent. Caravans and motorhomes are welcome.

* A SLEEPING BAG/doona/extra blankets.

* BRING REALLY WARM CLOTHES. We cant stress this enough - BRING REALLY WARM CLOTHES AND WATERPROOF CLOTHES EVEN IF ITS HOT AND SUNNY WHEN YOU LEAVE HOME. It can get very cold at night.

* SUNGLASSES, HAT, SUNSCREENS, LONGSLEEVE SHIRT etc.

* PHOTO ID - If you are over 18 and wish to gain access, BRING PHOTO ID. EVEN IF YOU ARE 55 YOU WILL STILL NEED PHOTO ID.

* A GOOD STASH OF CASH. There is a cash-out facility on site, at The Gift Shoppe, which is open until 10pm each night. But best to bring with you.

* MOBILE PHONE AND SPARE CHARGED BATTERY if you have one. There are no landline public phones on site. There are more public phones in the town of Meredith, 10 minutes drive from the site, but if you have a mobile, bring it. Coverage on the farm is improving all the time; you may have to go to the highest part of the site to get a signal.

* ANY MEDICATION YOU NEED - there is no pharmacy on site.

* DRINKING WATER FOR THE CAMPSITE - there is freed rinking water available onsite but we highly recomend getting a bulk water container from the supermarket - a 10litre would be ideal. Apart from just drinking it, it will be very handy for washing, cleaning, brushing your teeth and keeping your tongue wet for licking stamps if you decide to do all your wedding invitations whilst at the festival. There are of course plenty of hot and cold showers and sinks and water outlets available on site, but nothing beats the convenience of having at your camp.

* A VEHICLE OR ORGANISE YOURSELF A LIFT HOME. Taxis are at an absolute premium out there; a small number are available but book well in advance (like weeks) and make clear plans with the driver.

* TENT MARKER - they really do all look the same. A flag for the car aerial…etc…

* Good sensible SHOES for your feet.

* Bring BULK fresh drinking WATER for your campsite - most supermarkets sell bulk water in small drums with an easy valve. This is great for drinking, but also washing, cleaning your teeth, face, hands etc.

* If the weather looks like being wet bring gumboots.

Basically everyone camps on site. You can bring a tent, a marquee, sleep in the car, bring a caravan, campervan, motorhome, old bus, make a loungeroom in the back of a truck, get a chartered bus and driver, hire a Yurt, build The Tarp Mahal, do almost anything you like to make your temporary home as comfortable and well-appointed as it can be. But no generators, gas bottles or BBQs are permitted.

You can camp with your friends as long as YOU ARRIVE TOGETHER IN CONVOY. If you don't you won't be able to drive around looking for them. You can park your vehicles in a circle and pitch tents and communal tarps in the middle to create your own compound. But you can't reserve campsites - your friends must arrive at the same time as you if you want to camp together.

If you need to leave before everyone else we recommend parking in the Public Carpark which is just passed Reception, and walking your tent and gear into the Campgrounds - its a few hundred metres and it wont be hard to find a spot.

Before you come to the festival, make sure you check that your tent is in good working order and has all the pegs and ties. Bringing extra tarps for shelter or as flooring is fine but these will need heavy-duty fixing down in case of wind. Don't bother with those cheapo "gazebos" from camping or department stores, they will blow away if too many people breath out at once. They're no good in The Great Outdoors.

We recommend a tent marker and torch or battery-powered camp lantern. Battery-powered flashing tent markers are available from camping stores, put them on a pole or bike flag, they will be a very welcome beacon come the wee small hours.

There are three main camping grounds.

Bush Camp
Bush Camping is located North of the stage area, and is a secluded and unbelievably pretty camping ground. Gum trees, she-oaks, ferns and other indigenous flora have existed untouched for as long as anyone can remember, and we have carefully laid down a track through this land, with minimum disruption to the eco-structure. This will be quiet, sheltered camping. You are basically in the bush. It will be hard for large groups to stake out large sites in this area due to the vegetation and the single ring-road. The two roads that go through Bush Camp are called The Ring Road, and The Ring-a-Ding-Ding Road. This area is also a fair distance from the Amphitheatre, although it is fairly close to both the Food area, Pink Flamingo and of course toilets, First Aid and other services. Around 30% of Meredith-goers will be able to camp in The Bush before it is full, so it is likely to be popular with the early arrivals.

Top Camp
Top Camp is the camping ground closest to the action; closest to the amphitheatre and stage, closest to the food area, toilets, Pink Flamingo and The Meredith Eye. Top Camp is also the largest camping ground on the site; it is a massive green field with gentle dips and hills; a few rock piles, trees, ring roads, native planting areas, and is governed by a Blue Gum crop to the East and Cypress rows to the South. Top Camp is so big you should be able to camp well away from your neighbours (if you choose to). It is divided into suburbs - Ringwood, Eltham, Hong Kong etc - so you can find your tent easily enough. The native plantings - gums, acacias, she-oaks - have thrived since they were put in a year ago and as such there's more greenery and windbreaks up there.

Over time Top Camp will be ‘planted out' to become like a vast Bush Camp - with groves of SheOaks, stands of gums, maybe the odd circle of blackwoods and a corridor or two of Acacia.

The Pines (North Pines, South Pines)
The Pines are on the South boundary of Top Camp. They are two perpendicular rows of Pine Trees which intersect to form a giant "T", thus creating two pockets of sheltered camping. The North pocket (North Pines) has been open for many years, whereas the South pocket (South Pines) is only a few years old. These campsites are the furthest away from the action and will be pretty quiet and peaceful. Both are protected on two sides by thick rows of Cypress Pines, so they provide excellent shelter, depending on the direction of the wind. The coldest wind is the southwester, North Pines and South Pines provide good shelter from it.

The other aspect of Pine Tree Corner that many will find appealing is the panoramic vista. Man! From the other side of the trees, you sit high on a ridge, looking West to wide open plains that extend for miles and miles, a huge pine plantation, a disused gold mine, and stunning sunsets. It's a great spot, and those Meredith-goers who liked sitting in a quiet field watching the sunset are in for a total treat.

The campgrounds are populated similarly to any city; the inner city is the most densely populated, with most campsites being smaller. The further away you go, the more land you have, and the closer to the wide open spaces of the countryside you get. South Pines, for instance, seems like its furthest from the action, but like so many outer suburbs, its got a direct arterial road and footpath to the inner city, and as such its easy to get to. And the blocks are bigger. And the views are amazing. And as we all know, the suburbs ain't any straighter than the inner city.

Yurts
The Yurt Village will return and the Yurts will be available for hire. For details go to Yurts.

These items are banned at the festival:

Glass bottles of any kind
Gas bottles or hot cooking equipment eg triangas
BBQs
Generators
Campfires
Bean bags
Flares or fireworks
Dickheads
Weapons of any kind (we don't actually need to list that do we?)
Dogs or animals of any kind
Stereos in campsites that go above "quiet personal listening" level
Bongos
Market stalls
Commercial signage

GATES OPEN AT 8AM ON FRIDAY - please don't come earlier.

TOTAL FIRE BAN SITE day and night. No gas bottles, gas or fuel-burning cookers of any type, BBQs, generators, firesticks or fireworks.

NO GLASS – if you are bringing your own, bring cans or plastic bottles.

EVERYONE THAT GOES HAS TO HAVE A TICKET so don't turn up with out a valid wristband

FESTIVAL TICKETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES around the wrist of the Festival ticket-holder when at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre. Only remove it when you are on your way home.

DO NOT TRESPASS OR ASSIST ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO TRESPASS.

NO RESERVED CAMPING OR PARKING, please travel in convoy if you would like to camp together.

BRING PHOTO ID if you wish to drink alcohol. Even if you are 55, bring photo ID.

DO NOT ARRIVE OR LEAVE OVER .05 – monitor your alcohol intake or you may face heavy penalties and/ or loss of license.

DO NOT CROSS FESTIVAL BOUNDARIES AT ANY TIME or you will be ejected from the festival and/or charged with trespass. There is only one official entry and exit located at the corner of Mount Mercer Road and Nolan Road. Access via any other point will be considered as trespass.

NO DICKHEADS – that includes no stage diving, crowd surfing, moshing or aggressive behaviour.

NO DOGS – OR ANIMALS of any kind.

KEEP ROADS CLEAR - no parking any part of your vehicle on roads.

WEAR SENSIBLE SHOES.

20KMH SPEED LIMIT – walking pace for all vehicles at all times on site.

DO NOT WALK DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. Use pedestrian shoots.

NO SWIMMING IN THE DAMS.

TAKE CARE UNDER TREES branches can drop and please don’t climb them.

NO BEAN BAGS - those little foam beads don't mix well with the natural environment when the bean bag breaks.

If you plan to drive home, MONITOR ANY ALCOHOL INTAKE on the night before - you may be over the legal limit the next day and face heavy penalties and/or loss of license.

Smokers - don't butt out on the ground - USE PORTABLE ASHTRAYS provided on site.

Follow all directions of Emergency Management Staff.

PLEASE CLEAN UP YOUR CAMPSITE the site is a farm. Meredith has a recycling program, please be part of it.

NO CAMPING SUNDAY NIGHT, gates close at 4.30pm

NO LOUD or OFFENSIVE MUSIC that annoys your neighbours at anytime in campsites.

NO ELEVATED or RAISED COUCHES, chairs or platforms of any kind in the Amphitheatre. No couches on stilts, no stools, nothing above normal sitting chair or couch height.

There is a Zero Tolerance Policy in place for anyone trying to gain entry without a valid ticket, by foot or vehicle. Such persons are trespassers and are therefore breaking the law. The maximum penalty for trespassing is approximately $2750 or 6 months imprisonment. Anyone assisting trespassers will be refused entry or ejected from the festival, and banned from future festivals at the site. If a vehicle is found to be carrying a trespasser, all occupants of the vehicle will be refused entry.

SO PLEASE DO NOT:

* attempt entry in any manner without a valid wristband, or
* trespass on private property, or
* approach or enter/exit the site by other than the authorised entry/exit located at the corner of Mount Mercer and Nolan Road, or
* assist anyone with any of the above

This year tickets will again be in the form of wristbands. The ticket is a wristband, the wristband is a ticket.

Your wristband is your passport in, around and out of the festival. When you purchase a "ticket" from any outlet or online you will actually receive a wristband.

Each wristband will have a unique code on it, and each person's wristband will be electronically scanned on entry and inside the festival at various points to ensure it is valid. Once you are in the festival, you need to keep your wristband on for the duration of the event. The wristband is made of a durable yet soft, waterproof material that won't irritate.

When you receive your wristband, do not put it on until the day of the festival. When that day does arrive, our suggestion is to put it on before you depart for the festival, so you know it's on your wrist and you definitely packed it! Don't leave home without it (on your wrist).

No sponsorship or advertising messages will be printed on the wristbands, we are very mindful of the wristband being on your person for a day or three.

The benefits of the wristband include:

Speeding up the entry process at the festival gates
Canceling stolen or scalped tickets
Keeping the number of people at the festival as low as it should be, by visually identifying anyone at the festival who does not have a legitimate ticket (wristband) and politely handing them over to the Police with a view to them being charged on summons with Trespass, facing fines of up to $2750.

Gates are open Friday from 8am through to 1am Saturday morning. They re-open again on Saturday at 8am. Gates close 4:30pm Sunday - there is no camping Sunday night. Roadbloacks are in place Thursday night through so it's not possible to camp on the side of the road.

The Supernatural Amphitheatre is about 100 minutes drive from Melbourne CBD in light traffic. On the Friday of the festival you can expect steady traffic with some delays - here is a guide to travel times to your campsite on that day.

Melbourne CBD to campsite - 3 hours
Melbourne airport to campsite - 3 hours
Avalon airport to campsite - 2 hours
Geelong to campsite - 1.5 hours
Ballarat to campsite - 1.5 hours

Reserving Campsites is not permitted. You MUST arrive in convoy with your friends if you wish to camp together.

Campervans, motorhomes, caravans, converted buses and the like are all welcome at no extra charge. However, if you arrive in a vehicle such as one of these you may not have the freedom to park and camp wherever you choose. The Camping Marshalls may require you to park and camp on certain parts of the site, especially if the weather has been wet or the campsites are already nearing capacity. So, again, if you wish to camp with friends, arrive in convoy. Lastly, gas cooking is not permitted at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre so gas bottles will not be permitted onto the site.

Please note these vehicles will be subjected to rigorous searches upon entry. Power and running water (with the exception of free drinking water locations) are not provided at the site.

Chartered Buses and Drivers are welcome and encouraged at the festival. This is a great option as it means less traffic and a guaranteed responsible and alert driver to and from your campsite. However there are some protocols and tips you will need to observe to make this happen smoothly.

It's easy, cheap and quick to get to and from the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre by Public Transport.

Basically, there are trains from Spencer Street Melbourne to Geelong station (approx. 60 mins), then there are buses from Geelong Station to Meredith town (approx. 30mins), then the Meredith Festival Shuttle Bus will take you from Meredith town to the Festival site (approx. 10mins).

MOST IMPORTANTLY: if you wish to get the bus HOME from the festival (whether or not you arrived by bus) YOU MUST REGISTER AT THE INFO TENT AT THE FESTIVAL by 9pm on the Saturday Nite. The Info Centre is near The Gift Shoppe on the site, the trip is $5 p/p.

Getting to the festival by train
All bus and train services you need to use are run by V/Line (www.vlinepassenger.com.au)

FROM MELBOURNE
To get to the festival, take train from Southern Cross station to Geelong station (approx. 1 hour ride) and at Geelong, catch connecting Ballarat bus to Meredith (approx. 40 min ride). From Meredith town, a shuttle bus will run to the festival site (10 min ride) to coincide with all V-Line arrivals on Friday in Meredith Town (10 min ride) which will cost you $5 p/p.

FROM BALLARAT
To get to the festival, catch the bus from Ballarat Rail Station to Meredith (approx. 40 min ride). From Meredith town, a shuttle bus will run to the festival site (10 min ride) which will cost you $5 p/p.

Getting home
Catch shuttle bus - which coincides with all V-Line departures from Meredith Town on Sunday from Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre Bus Stop to Meredith town (10 mins). You must register for the Sunday bus trips back at the Info Centre by 9pm Saturday nite; trip is $5 p/p

TO MELBOURNE
Note: shuttle bus from Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre Bus Stop.

Catch the Geelong bus from Meredith to Geelong station (approx. 40 mins) and at the station jump on a train to Southern Cross station (approx. 1 hour ride).

TO BALLARAT
Note: Shuttle bus from Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre Bus Stop leaves at a time to be advised, this will be the only Shuttle Bus provided for the Ballarat timetable

Catch the Ballarat bus from Meredith to Ballarat station (approx. 40 mins).

COMING FROM ADELAIDE
There are many ways to get transport from Adelaide. For details try some fo these websites:

www.mccaffertys.com.au
www.vline.com.au/network.html
www.gsr.com.au/fares/overland.htm
www.jetstar.com.au/flightInfo/schedules
www.virginblue.com.au
AVALON AIRPORT JETSTAR PASSENGERS

Services between Geelong and Avalon:

* Services between Avalon airport and Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road are operated by Avalon Airport Shuttle.

* One-way trips cost $12 per adult to Geelong Bus Port.

* Door to Door service is available throughout Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road.

For prices phone (03) 52 788 788.

Bus Services from Geelong are timed to coincide with the Jetstar schedule. Passengers using the Avalon Airport Shuttle service to the airport should remember to check departure times on (03) 52 788 788.

There is a shuttle bus from the site to Meredith Town but its main purpose is to link with public transport options, not to provide a round trip to Meredith Town for non-PT users. The shuttle runs are timed to meet bus services through Meredith Town, go to Public Transport link from INFO page for more details.

Every year for more than a decade there has been a Booze Bus operating on the road either to or from the festival, and sometimes both. In recent years these buses have also been testing for drugs. In 2008 Victoria Police mounted a large roadside operation for traffic going in to the festival on the Friday. We anticpate that this will happen again for 2009. The Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre festival organisers do not condone the use of illicit drugs, and we abhor the practice of driving over the legal limit. So please be warned and take great care in driving to and from the festival.

At the festival each year, the TAC set up a fantastic bus named Vanessa who is equipped with many breath-testing stations and friendly staff who enable to festival-goers to check their blood alcohol content before making a decision about driving a vehicle. What an absolutely terrific idea. We love Vanessa, she's a ripper. Check the festival program booklet or Info Centre at the festival for details of where Vanessa and her staff will be located for the exit.

Please download a document we have prepared (borrowing heavily from the Fitzroy Legal Service, thankyou) which details your rights in the event of being approached by Police regarding a drug or alcohol test, or if the PAD "sniffer" dogs approach you or your vehicle. We appreciate and respect the efforts of Victoria Police and support their work around and at the festival. Please take the time to read this, as being informed about the subject will be invaluable to you, should you find yourself in this kind of situation.

There are traffic holding bays on the roads approaching the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre. This means you will almost certainly be stopped several kilometres from the entrance. Don't be alarmed, this doesn't mean the queue stretches all the way to the gate. The holding bays are in place to slow traffic down to a safe speed, to reduce the instance of traffic banking up on dangerous bends or hills, and to check everyone has valid wristbands well before they arrive at the festival.

Please note that at times there will be two lanes of traffic flowing in the same direction. Festival-goers should stay in the left lane, as the right lane is reserved for emergency services, staff, artists and crew - all of whom have official vehicle passes. There will be no pushing in or rorting thankyou very much young man. Anyone trying to drive along the right hand lane without correct car passes will be refused entry and escorted to the very back of the queue.

Reception is the complex near the festival entrance where you and your vehicle are checked in for your stay with us. Reception is open 24 hours, but note that on the Friday you can only enter the festival between 8am and 1am Saturday morning. Between 1am and 8am Saturday gates are closed, re-opening for the day at 8am Saturday.

At Reception your wristband's barcode will be electronically scanned to ensure it is valid. Your vehicle will be searched for glass and other banned items like people who don't have a wristband, who are treated as Trespassers and handed over to the Police. Any vehicle found harbouring or assisting a Trespasser will have ALL occupants banned from enterting the festival, whether they have valid wristbands or not. Don't help a Trespasser or you'll be having a boring weekend at home.

Anyways! On the brighter side, our wonderful festival volunteers and concierge will be on hand at Reception to greet you, hand you a free 'Owner's Manual' festival program booklet with site map etc, some garbage bags for your campsite and Get You On Your Way.

Please don't rely on Reception staff to answer your questions on arrival - the Pocket Companion and this this website will have every piece of info you'll need to know, then once You're In the Info Centre will help with any further enquiries. Get thru Recetion as quickly and smoothly as you can - have your wristbands on, be prepared to pop the boot and open any eskies etc. God love you and thanks for coming.

Passouts are available at Reception from 10pm Friday night onwards. DO NOT REMOVE your wristband whilst you are off-site or it will not be valid for re-entry.

Contact Aunty for the best info about dropping off and picking up your friends/kids/parents at the festival.

Festivals at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre are all age events, however anyone 16 years old or under must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The parent or legal guardian must also have a valid wristband to enter the festival.

The festivals are not set up or designed with people under 18 in mind.

Kids under 10 are free, kids 10 and over need a (full price) valid wristband. Kids under 10 are given a wristband on entry and parent's mobile phone numbers are written on them in case of emergency eg in case if the kid gets lost. Whilst we welcome parents bringing their kids to the festivals, again we dont set up or design the festivals with kids in mind; there are no dedicated kids activities and no childminding or creche-type facilities. So please think carefully before bringing kids to the festival, it's a big crowd and they'll essentially be outdoors in the Victoria summer weather for three days. You are waaaay better off leaving the kids with their grandparents if you can and coming on down for some kid-like fun of your own. But you know, that's up to you.

Festivals at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre are all age events, however anyone 16 years old or under must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The parent or legal guardian must also have a valid wristband to enter the festival.

The festivals are not set up or designed with people under 18 in mind.

Kids under 10 are free, kids 10 and over need a (full price) valid wristband. Kids under 10 are given a wristband on entry and parent's mobile phone numbers are written on them in case of emergency eg in case if the kid gets lost. Whilst we welcome parents bringing their kids to the festivals, again we dont set up or design the festivals with kids in mind; there are no dedicated kids activities and no childminding or creche-type facilities. So please think carefully before bringing kids to the festival, it's a big crowd and they'll essentially be outdoors in the Victoria summer weather for three days. You are waaaay better off leaving the kids with their grandparents if you can and coming on down for some kid-like fun of your own. But you know, that's up to you.

The Supernatural Amphitheatre is about 100 minutes drive from Melbourne International and Domestic Airport (Tullamarine) in average traffic.

Avalon Airport is much closer, located just East of Geelong. Avalon has very few international flights, but the domestic airline
Jetstar has several flights from many Australian destinations around festival time.

On the Friday of the festival you can expect heavier traffic with some delays - here is a guide to travel times to the festival site on Friday.

Melbourne CBD to festival - 3 hours
Melbourne airport to festival - 3 hours
Avalon airport to festival - 2 hours

The simple and fair Ticketing System that was in place the last few seasons is back.
The majority of tickets to Meredith will be available via The Subscriber Ticket Ballot.
There will be two rounds (draws) of the Ballot. The First Round will be available only to existing Subscribers; the Second Round will be open to new Subscribers as well as existing Subscribers.
After the Ballot is done and dusted, there will be Store Sales, then Online Sales, then Aunty’s Last Chance.

Tickets will again be in the form of wristbands this year. There will be only one type of ticket available – a FriSatSun – which gets you Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the festival. Which means everyone can come for the full festival. The old SatSun tickets will not be available this year.

The majority of tickets to Meredith will be available via The Subscriber Ticket Ballot.

There will be two rounds (draws) of the Ballot. The First Round will be available only to existing Subscribers; the Second Round will be open to new Subscribers as well as existing Subscribers.
After the Ballot is done and dusted, there will be Store Sales, then Online Sales, then Aunty’s Last Chance.

THE BALLOT
If you are already a Meredith or Golden Plains Subscriber, enter the ballot before 10pm Monday 17 August 2009.
If you are not a Subscriber, enter the ballot before 10pm Tuesday 26 August to become one and enter the Ballot. It’s free and easy.

BALLOT RESULTS
Two rounds of ticket offers will be made via email to successful applicants; one on August 19, and one on August 28. You only have to enter once.
Any Subscribers who were unsuccessful in the first round will be automatically entered into the second round ballot.

PUBLIC SALES - STORES
Tickets will be available in select stores from September 8.

PUBLIC SALES - ONLINE
Open to all comers on September 10, here at www.mmf.com.au.

AUNTY'S LAST CHANCE
Designed for long-time Meredith-goers, this allocation opens after Online Sales finishes.

This year tickets will again be in the form of wristbands. The ticket is a wristband, the wristband is a ticket.When you purchase a “ticket” you actually receive a wristband. Your wristband is your passport in, around and out of the festival.

Each wristband will have a unique code on it, and each person’s wristband will be electronically scanned on entry to ensure it is valid. Once you are in the festival, you need to keep your wristband on for the duration of the event. The wristband is made of a durable yet soft, waterproof material that won’t irritate.

When you receive your wristband, do not put it on until the day of the festival. When that day does arrive, our suggestion is to put it on before you depart for the festival, so you know it’s on your wrist and you definitely packed it! Don’t leave home without it (on your wrist).
No sponsorship or advertising messages will be printed on the wristbands, we are very mindful of the wristband being on your person for a day or three.
The benefits of the wristband include:
• Speeding up the entry process at the festival gates
• Canceling stolen or scalped tickets
• Keeping the number of people at the festival as low as it should be, by visually identifying anyone at the festival who does not have a legitimate ticket (wristband) and politely showing them the door

Take place on Tuesday 8 September. Please note the last few years have seen queues at each store before the store even opens that are long enough to account for all the available tickets inside.

Before you purchase a ticket at a store, you must Click here to read the festival's Terms and Conditions.

Here are the stores that will be selling tickets on that day. Do not hassle them before then!! They have nothing they can give you.

There is a limit of 3 tickets per customer. Some stores only take cash.

Polyester Records 387 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
Missing Link Basement of 405 Bourke Street Melbourne
Greville Records152 Greville Street Prahran
Polyester City 288 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Go Café 37 Bellarine St, Geelong
Karova Lounge Cnr Field and Camp Sts Ballarat
Swell Café CASH ONLY Stuart Avenue Jan Juc

Thursday 10 September, here at www.mmf.com.au, using online ticketing experts GreenTix.

You do not need to be a Subscriber or have a Meredith Key code to purchase online on this day.

Here's some FAQs about Online Sales:

How is the Online Tickets Allocation sold?
Via expert festival online ticketing company GreenTix. GreenTix can do everything we require and a whole lot more. Their system can handle the volume of traffic it needs to. They are experts in ticketing and handle many large events.

Why have online sales?
It is clear that many people prefer to have the online sales method, as long as the process is orderly. This means we pick a date and time and put some tickets on sale then. Whoever gets through online before others do gets the tickets. This is how the majority of tickets to events are now sold. GreenTix will be able to comfortably handle the volume here; the system will work effectively.

How many can we buy?
Up to 3 tickets per person.

Is there a queuing system for Online sales?
Yes. Here’s how GreenTix describe it. “It is a fair system that can handle the volume and demand, and importantly it does so in an orderly fashion. It is first in best dressed: if you are in the right place at the right time before the next person, you will be ahead of them in line. Once the queue has formed, we will tick through it as efficiently as possible. There will be no advantage to opening up multiple windows, clicking refresh or trying to 'beat' the system”.

How long do we have to complete our transaction in the Online Allocation?

You will have 8 minutes to complete your transaction. If you plan on using PayPal instead of a credit card you MUST have an account set up before this. (note – this 8 minute window does not apply to sales in the Ballot. Ballot winners have around 5 days to make their transaction).

If you are already a Meredith or Golden Plains Subscriber, enter the Ballot before 10pm Monday 17 August 2009.

If you are not a Subscriber, enter the Ballot before 10pm Tuesday 26 August. It’s free and easy.

Two rounds of ticket offers will be made via email to successful applicants; one on August 19, and one on August 28. You only have to enter once.
Any Subscribers who were unsuccessful in the first round will be automatically entered into the second round ballot.
A maximum of 3 tickets per person applies to Ballot sales.
If you are a Ballot winner or have purchased tickets online and have a question click here.( http://meredith2.greentix.com.au/contact)

MORE ABOUT THE BALLOT
The Subscriber Ticket Ballot has been used for the previous five festivals at the Supernatural Amphitheatre to get tickets into the hands of subscribers in an equitable and stress-free manner. The ballot is simple, fair and efficient.
It’s done online and via email.
1. Enter the Ballot before it closes.
2. You will be notified via email by Aunty Meredith as to whether or not you have been successful in the ballot. Two rounds of offers will be made – on August 19 and August 28.
3. If successful, you will be emailed a unique alpha-numeric code (a “Meredith Key”) which you can use to log in to our secure Online Box Office within a 6 day period, purchase up to 3 tickets, and have them sent to you.
If you don’t have a credit card, that’s ok - we offer PayPal.
If you are not drawn in the ballot, do not despair….there are two further allocations of tickets to go on sale.

The Ballot Application Process
Please note that the speed of your internet connection doesn’t matter – dialup or broadband are both fine. When applications close, all the applications go into a ballot pool, and successful applicants are selected from the pool of subscribers until the allocation is exhausted.
The successful applicants are then emailed a unique alpha-numeric code (called a “Meredith Key”) which acts like a password. They then have 6 days to go online to our secure site, log in using the Meredith Key and make the purchase. No rush, no fuss. No stress. No competing with the rest of Australia for tickets. Each Meredith Key can only be used once.
Many long-running festivals internationally now use this system, it is popular because it is quick and easy, and in this case you would only be competing for tickets with other Subscribers.
You don’t even need a credit card – we also offer PayPal. But you must set up a PayPal account in advance – it takes about 5 days. All you need is a bank account in your name, and of course enough money in it for the tickets when the time comes to pay.
Subscribers who enter the ballot will know whether or not they have been successful in getting tickets in the Ballot before the later allocations go on sale.

Meredith tickets will be $239 this year plus booking fee. If you purchase Online or in the Ballot an additional charge for postage will be incurred of around $5.95. Your festival ticket price includes free parking and free camping and gives you access to the full three days of the festival.
Only one type of ticket is sold to Meredith - a FriSatSun - and it gets you Friday Saturday and Sunday at the event. Friday will start earlier this year with gates opening at 8am and live music starting in the late afternoon.

You can Ask Aunty Meredith - aunty@mmf.com.au

Please note that all tickets purchased online will be sent out from the start of November, even if they were purchased in the Ballot or Online in August or September. Delaying their delivery to you decreases the chance of tickets being lost or stolen. It is also an anti-scalping measure.

Please be aware that a ticket (wristband) to an event at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre cannot be re-sold or transferred for profit or commercial advantage. If this occurs, the Festival wristband is voidable and the Festival wristband holder may be refused entry to or be ejected from the festival site. Note that each wristband ticket has a unique code on it and each and every wristband will be scanned at Reception when each and every patron enters the event to determine that the ticket is valid.
However, patrons are welcome to pass on their ticket if they wish to, as long as they do not do so for profit or gain. In other words, if you bought a ticket and can no longer attend, you are very welcome to pass that ticket onto someone else, as long as you do not sell it for more than face value. If you bought it for say $239 plus $8 booking fee, you can on-sell it for $247.
Practically, how this works is that for any and every event there are a certain amount of people whose circumstances change after purchasing a ticket and can no longer attend. We encourage those people to pass on their ticket to others or sell it for face value or less. You are welcome to use ebay or any other legal method to on-sell your ticket, as long as it is at face value. For every scalper that tries to sell at an inflated price, there is at least one or more legitimate person who just wants to sell their ticket at face value. Market forces dictate that the scumbag scalpers or opportunists can’t sell for inflated prices as there are other tickets for sale at normal price. Good triumphs over evil. The free market reigns. That’s how it’s been working, and it works fine, power to the people etc etc.
But if you want to go, don’t wait till then, cos there just aren’t that many tickets available.

MMF PTY LTD ABN 15157031720 Terms and Conditions of Sale
Please be aware that a ticket (referred to as a Festival wristband) to an event at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre cannot be re-sold or transferred for profit or commercial advantage. If this occurs the Festival wristband is voidable and the Festival wristband holder may be refused entry to or be ejected from the festival site.
This Festival wristband is sold by MMF PTY LTD ABN 15157031720. Purchase of this Festival wristband constitutes a contract between MMF Pty Ltd and the purchaser. Wristbands are sold subject to the following terms and conditions, as well as terms and conditions available for view at www.mmf.com.au.
The Terms and Conditions of Sale include the following:
1. A change in personal circumstances of the Festival wristband Holder does not entitle the return or exchange of the Festival wristband.
2. Festival wristbands will not be refunded under any circumstances, including but not limited to, the possible non-appearance of any particular person or group expected by the Festival wristband-holder, whether advertised or not, or any adverse weather conditions beyond the reasonable control of the event organiser.
3. Festival wristbands will not be replaced: lost, stolen or damaged Festival wristbands will not be replaced.
4. Festival wristbands only provide access to the areas as indicated by signage at the event.
5. Audio visual equipment (including but not limited to cameras, video recorders, mobile phones and pagers) are permitted subject to the discretion of the venue. The Presenter reserves the right to remove a Festival wristband holder if they are in breach of the requirements regarding audio visual equipment.
6. Children under 10 are free. Everyone else needs a Festival wristband to gain entry. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a ticket-holding parent or legal guardian at all times. There are no concessions or discounts.
7. Festival wristbands must be worn at all times around the wrist of the Festival-wristband-holder when at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre.

Click here for info.

Please email Aunty for info on this.

Booking fees vary from store to store, and online, but are generally around $8.50 per ticket.
Registered Post is an additional $5.95 if you purchase online.

Please note there are no refunds. Here are the terms and conditions by which each ticket is sold:

MMF PTY LTD ABN 15157031720 Terms and Conditions of Sale
Please be aware that a ticket (referred to as a Festival wristband) to an event at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre cannot be re-sold or transferred for profit or commercial advantage. If this occurs the Festival wristband is voidable and the Festival wristband holder may be refused entry to or be ejected from the festival site.
This Festival wristband is sold by MMF PTY LTD ABN 15157031720. Purchase of this Festival wristband constitutes a contract between MMF Pty Ltd and the purchaser. Wristbands are sold subject to the following terms and conditions, as well as terms and conditions available for view at www.mmf.com.au.
The Terms and Conditions of Sale include the following:
1. A change in personal circumstances of the Festival wristband Holder does not entitle the return or exchange of the Festival wristband.
2. Festival wristbands will not be refunded under any circumstances, including but not limited to, the possible non-appearance of any particular person or group expected by the Festival wristband-holder, whether advertised or not, or any adverse weather conditions beyond the reasonable control of the event organiser.
3. Festival wristbands will not be replaced: lost, stolen or damaged Festival wristbands will not be replaced.
4. Festival wristbands only provide access to the areas as indicated by signage at the event.
5. Audio visual equipment (including but not limited to cameras, video recorders, mobile phones and pagers) are permitted subject to the discretion of the venue. The Presenter reserves the right to remove a Festival wristband holder if they are in breach of the requirements regarding audio visual equipment.
6. Children under 10 are free. Everyone else needs a Festival wristband to gain entry. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a ticket-holding parent or legal guardian at all times. There are no concessions or discounts.
7. Festival wristbands must be worn at all times around the wrist of the Festival-wristband-holder when at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre.

Note that it is a term and condition of sale that Lost or Stolen tickets are not replaced. Generally.

Email Aunty Meredith if you have questions about lost or stolen tickets.

There is a Zero Tolerance Policy in place for anyone trying to gain entry without a valid ticket, by foot or vehicle. Such persons are trespassers and are therefore breaking the law. The maximum penalty for trespassing is approximately $2750 or 6 months imprisonment. Anyone assisting trespassers will be refused entry or ejected from the festival, and banned from future festivals at the site. If a vehicle is found to be carrying a trespasser, all occupants of the vehicle will be refused entry.

SO PLEASE DO NOT:

* attempt entry in any manner without a valid wristband, or
* trespass on private property, or
* approach or enter/exit the site by other than the authorised entry/exit located at the corner of Mount Mercer and Nolan Road, or
* assist anyone with any of the above.

Capacity for Meredith Music Festival this year is 11,000 patrons

Over the last two years the number of non-paying people on site has been reduced by about a thousand. In this time the number of tickets available has risen from 10,000 to 11,000, meaning the same total number of people are on site as in previous years.

The 'size' of Meredith is just right for Meredith and will be not be increased. The only change in size of crowd in recent years came in 2006 when the festival was reduced in size by a thousand people; that reduced size is the size that Meredith is still at this year.

The festival runs from 8am Friday 11 December to 4:30pm Sunday 13 December. Two nights camping is included in the ticket price.

Gates open 8am Friday to 1am Saturday morning, then from 8am Saturday to 4:30pm Sunday. Everyone must leave by 4:30pm Sunday - there is no camping Sunday night.

Live music from the stage runs thus:

Friday 4pm - 4am Saturday
Saturday 11am - 5am Sunday
Sunday 10am - 4:30pm.
Gates close 4:30pm Sunday.

Please click here for info on selling or on-selling your ticket.

Locals should check the Meredith Community Newsletter for information about tickets, traffic, fundraising and other issues. If you need to contact the festival please do so by emailing Aunty Meredith - aunty@mmf.com.au