For 10 years, this Ballarat competition has been celebrating the weirdest and most wonderful facial hair in Australia

For the last decade, a competition has been hunting for the best beard and moustache in West Vic - and that includes facial hair that’s been crocheted or converted into a running gold mine. 

❓What happened: As part of the Heritage Festival in Ballarat, Hop Temple hosted the 10th annual Ballarat Beard & Stache Competition on May 23rd. The competition has six categories: 

• Full beard natural: 20 centimetres to infinity 

• Full beard natural: 10 to 20 centimetres 

• Verdi: short beard under 10 with a moustache 

• Moustache 

• Partial beard 

• Just for fun freestyle 

👥 What people said: Jake Warren works as an operating theatre technician, but he’s also the event organiser and co-founder of the Ballarat Beard & Moustache Union (BBMU) alongside Brayden Dorney. It was the City of Ballarat that approached the BBMU a decade ago to participate in the Heritage Festival Weekend. 

He told the Brolga the competition is nationally renowned, with each category featuring an entrant from another state. 

🗣️: “We love the community we’ve formed”, said Warren. “Competitors come from all over the state and country. We love how many people get together and have fun”.

Beard beginnings: The BBMU was founded in reaction to several clubs popping up around the country. Some of the beards reach lengths over a metre, and the annual competition creates a ripe platform for creativity.

• “We saw a bunch of cool clubs around Australia and the world, so we were just a couple of guys feeling inspired,” Warren said. “So we started growing beards.”

• “Last year, we had a guy enter the freestyle category with a running gold mine in his beard. It had a pump, running water and a mine.” 

This year, a couple crocheted their own connected beards. 

• “We had a repeat competitor crochet a new style of beard. She got her partner up and it was sort of like Avatar - connected.” 

Moustache mates: Warren said the competition is both good fun and an accepting place for all. 

🗣️: “People love how inclusive it is, it’s so many different sorts of people getting together. Doesn’t matter if it’s a big beard, small beard, male, female.” 

“It’s a perfect setting to get out of your comfort zone and make new friends.” 

The victors: Have a look at the full list of winners below!

Full Beard 20cm to Infinity

🥇 1st — Luke Sizeland

🥈 2nd — Kees Webster

🥉 3rd — Justin Magnay

Partial Beard

🥇 1st — Kevin Blanks

🥈 2nd — David Jenkins

🥉 3rd — Kenneth Galvin

Verdi

🥇 1st — William Johnson

🥈 2nd — Santa Claus

🥉 3rd — James Costigan

Full Beard 10cm–20cm

🥇 1st — Neale Postlethwaite

🥈 2nd — Jamie Johnson

🥉 3rd — Cam McAdie

Moustache

🥇 1st — Robert Hunt

🥈 2nd — Ian Oswin

🥉 3rd — Troy Hart

Freestyle

🥇 1st — Gary Moyle

🥈 2nd — Kelly Maynard

🥉 3rd — Ollie Dorney and Harry Warren

People’s Champion 

Shu Brown