| Location(s) | Canberra, Nimbin |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1971, 1973 |
| Founded by | Johnny Allen and Graeme Dunstan |
| Date(s) | 12 to 23 May 1973 |
The Aquarius Festival was a counter-cultural arts and music festival organised by the Australian Union of Students and sponsored by Peter Stuyvesant and held at Nimbin. The first NUAUS festival was held in Sydney ca 1966,[1] while the second, Melbourne, third in Canberra and last (Aquarius) was held in Nimbin, New South Wales in 1973.[2]
The Aquarius Festival aimed to celebrate alternative thinking and sustainable lifestyles.[3] The ten day event was held from 12 to 23 May 1973 and co-directed by Johnny Allen and Graeme Dunstan. Vernon Treweeke also played a part in organising the event. It is often described as Australia's equivalent to the Woodstock Festival and the birthplace for Australia's hippie movement.[4]. Estimated turn-up at Nimbin was from 5,000 to 10,000 people.
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Performers at the festival included the White Company - an experimental Theatre Troupe featuring a number of alternative culture artists including Peter Carolan - singer Paul Joseph, Donny McCormack (ex-Nutwood Rug Band), The Larrikins and Ian Farr.
The festival had a permanent effect on the economy of Nimbin, as many Festival participants decided to remain in the district[5] The area was previously a dairying and banana growing region in severe decline. Some of those that stayed might self-describe as hippies, but the larger mass came from all sorts of backgrounds and life experience, ranging from 18 to 80, and would resent that label.
One group pooled resources after the Nimbin Aquarius Festival and bought a then 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) property at Tuntable Falls[5] in the next valley east, below Mount Nardi, and formed a community called the "Co-Ordination Co-Operative". Other groups followed suit and formed communes that continue today. Examples include Paradise Valley Pastoral Company and Nmbngee.[5]
While "Multiple Occupancy" was basically a cheap housing alternative, there were some self-described spiritual communities that shared particular values, like Bodhi Farm and Darmananda, but they tended to be closer to the neighbouring The Channon and Terania Creek than Nimbin.
Mullumbimby and Byron Bay attracted more of the moneyed "New Age" people, while Nimbin attracted impecunious wanderers and back-packers. Within a decade the "Aquarians" were outnumbered by the continuing flow of disaffected urbanites and tree-changers coming into the area.
At the 10th anniversary of the Aquarius Festival, the Australian Association of Sustainable Communities (AASC) was formed.