18/08/2026
👏 COOLGARDIE… GIVE THESE TWO A HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE! 👏
We talk a lot about the team behind the Coolgardie Outback Festival, and rightly so. It takes an incredible committee, volunteers, sponsors and community to pull off an event of this size.
But every great team needs someone steering the ship.
For us, that man is Bodean Buckingham
Without Bodean and his vision, we’d probably just be a bunch of people putting up fences for a few bulls to run around in. 😂 Instead, that vision has grown into what we witnessed in 2026, the biggest rodeo in WA and something the entire Goldfields can be proud of.
What people see is the finished product. What they don’t see are the months of phone calls, meetings, planning, chasing sponsors, organising equipment, solving problems and somehow making sure it all comes together on time.
Bodean has an incredible ability to bring people together, get them behind an idea and turn that idea into reality.
But standing beside him through all of it is Karen. ❤️
Known simply as “Mum” to plenty of us on the committee, Karen quietly keeps everyone going. She supports Bodean through the long days and late nights while looking after the rest of us along the way.
Behind someone who gives so much of himself to the community is a family who also sacrifices their time with him so he can make it happen.
Bodean is a highly respected bloke throughout the Goldfields, but what he and Karen have helped create here probably says more than any title ever could.
This isn’t just a rodeo anymore. It brings thousands of people to Coolgardie, supports local businesses and gives us the opportunity to put money and support straight back into the community.
The committee helps build it, but someone had to dream it up, believe in it and keep steering the ship.
Bodean & Karen Buckingham, take a bloody bow. 👏❤️🤠
You’ve created something pretty damn special.
