Pyramid Rock
Not Hard Enough
For the sixth year in a row, the Pyramid Rock Festival returns to Victoria to bring in the New Year, from the 29th of December 2009 until the 1st of January 2010.
Set on a private coastal farm in Phillip Island, roughly two hours drive from Melbourne; Pyramid Rock is a camping music festival that caters for over 12,000 festival-goers from across Australia and will be showcasing over 50 musical acts, including Empire of the Sun, Van She, Architecture in Helsinki and Grinspoon.
The festival is an all ages event. Property is searched for alcohol, glass bottles, fireworks, flares and dangerous weapons. Alcohol is to be purchased and consumed in the designated licensed area only. According to the terms and conditions of entry, breach of these conditions ‘may’ lead to the confiscation of such offending articles and the removal of the patron from the venue.
It is hard to take these terms and conditions seriously when year after year thousands of patrons manage to smuggle copious amounts of alcohol into the event. Nathan Llewellyn, a 21year old apprentice electrician, who has attended the event for the past 4 years said it is easy to get alcohol into the festival because the people searching the cars are of similar age and can relate to everyone. “If you are nice and just talk to them they don’t really care, they are just people doing it for a free ticket,” he said.
“We didn’t even get checked last year, we just drove through one of the isles that no one was checking, so everyone got heaps of piss in,” Llewellyn said.
“The year before that, we bought a blue 78’ Gemini station wagon for 500 dollars just for the trip, then cut a hole in a fake LPG gas cylinder and filled it with grog.
“The girl searching the car even said to me ‘Give me a couple and I can say that you have given up all your grog.”
A regular volunteer at music festivals Claire Warden said the checks are done fairly briefly over the cars and people are asked if they have alcohol. “There are random thorough checks done,” Claire said.
“ There are no real consequences for us if we let someone through with alcohol because there is no real way of detecting that, ” she said.
“They just have to have faith that you are doing your job properly.”
Claire said a lot of the time many people just don’t hide their alcohol very well, therefore it is easy to confiscate it.
Bass Coast Shire Council Planning Department Manager Antony Duffel said he was not aware that a large amount of alcohol was getting into the festival. “The last festival was regarded as one of the best,” Mr. Duffel said.
“There were not as many complaints about various issues such as over consumption of alcohol,” he said.
“From a council point of view I think the organisers have done a good job.”
Festival Director Angus Cameron started the Pyramid Rock Festival in 2004 as a reaction to the massive party crowds that flock to Phillip Island every year to bring in the New Year. The main street CLICK FOR PHOTO ALBUM in Cowes on New Years Eve used to be out of control; there was heaps of violence and lots of drunken bored teenagers trying to make their own entertainment.
Inspector Brian Curley of the Bass Coast Service Area said the Police supported the go ahead of the festival because it could be managed by paid security and promoted less of an impact on the Police and the community. “It is more open, well lit and secure,” Inspector Curley said.
“In terms of drugs and alcohol, we are not saying it is better to take it there more than in town, however it is easier to manage in a controlled environment,” he said.
“In town there are lane ways and dark streets.”
Currently people who get their alcohol confiscated are still allowed into the festival. Inspector Curley said the organisers should put in place some sort of penalty.
“There is not much of a deterrent,” Inspector Curley said.
“ People will just buy less to offset the risk.
“If it gets taken then it is just a loss of 40 dollars and they still get to go into the festival.”
Victoria University student Mitch Yeats said he wouldn’t go if there was the possibility that he wouldn’t be allowed into the festival. “ It would ruin it…it would be so much more expensive if we had to buy alcohol there,” Yeats said.
“ It wouldn’t have the same relaxed atmosphere,” he said.
“We go so we can sit around and drink with our friends at our campsites, when there are bad bands on and nothing to do.
“A whole part of the experience is sneaking in the alcohol and deciding a way to smuggle it in.”
The Festival Song by Pez, filmed at The Pyramid Rock Festival 08/09
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