The Events

All five events detailed were held on or near the NSW bank of the Murray river (Maps). Tocumwal III (Easter 1994) and Tocumwal IV (Easter 1996)1 were five day events held on private bushland adjoining the Murray 11 kms from the town of Tocumwal. Featuring a secluded billabong, the site had been occupied first at Easter 1993. To avoid overburdening the land, Toc IV was concentrated on a different region of the site. Both events were attended by about 4,000 people and there were 12 and 17 villages at Toc III and Toc IV respectively. Toc IV, a demonstration of the 'new' ConFest, featured a greater diversity of villages, many of which had community food kitchens (food supplied by DTE) and community base radios.

Tocumwal Birdlands (New Year 1995/96), held on a nearby property, and the first week long event, attracted about 9,500 people (with thirteen villages). There are many retrospectively ambivalent about Birdlands. Following events discussed in chapter three, DTE were unexpectedly deserted by several key co-ordinators, only two months prior to New Year 1995/96. While ultimately liberated by this departure, the Society was left in a state of confusion as they sought a new site for the summer event. Though a site was found, much of it was marshland and lacking adequate tree cover. As Param said 'Australians are a swimming culture ... this is a swamp'. After the landowner failed to honour an earlier agreement to lower water levels, DTE and ConFesters had to contend with a wide irrigation channel running the entire length of the site. The channel, separating the market and car park from the rest of the site, was spanned by a makeshift one way bridge which broke several times during the event precipitating frustrating bottlenecks and long detours.2 However, due to the manner in which participants responded to 'the bridge' (see Chapter 8), and with subsequent events widely acclaimed, the new Society avoided a potential disaster.

Moama IV (New Year 1996/97) and Moama V (Easter 1997), attracting 6,000 and 5,000 people/and 21 and 16 villages respectively, were held on Pericoota Station, 25 km west of Moama on the Murray. The site was a virtual island, bushland almost completely flanked by a billabong and the river. The 'island' was gained at one end by a land bridge or hand operated punt, and by a small footbridge at the other. As a planning design, more of the site's terrain was used for camping and villages than at the three prior events held there.

There is significant variation between the Easter and New Year events, mirroring the way such periods are celebrated in Australian culture. The New Year ConFest has a 'party atmosphere', a fact which attracts scores of young people searching for hedonistic pleasures - the 'good time'. Since there are greater numbers attending, the market is larger and it is generally a popular occasion to promote therapies and herald prophetic visions, to hawk local political agendas and global spiritual panaceas. The Easter event, on the other hand, is smaller in scale and family orientated. Commonly regarded as a more 'intimate' and harmonious event, it is a time for serious healing.

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