Chinchilla may be as small as the creature it shares a name with, but it’s a heavyweight champion when it comes to its agricultural output: the little town produces a whopping 25% of Australia’s watermelons! And because it’s all go big or go home they even have a Big Melon to honour their most important produce. Weighing in at four tonnes, standing three-metres high and nine metres wide this iconic slice of watermelon looks over the Warrego Highway. Just look for the giant melon, you can’t miss it!
But that’s not all they do to celebrate. In fact, they hold a Melon Festival every two years in February — the latest was held in 2025 — full of refreshing, sticky hilarious fun!
Chinchilla Melon Festival
It all started back in 1994, when Chinchilla was suffering from a long-term drought. With the aim of boosting morale and confidence within the community, and celebrate the town’s reputation, a group of dedicated volunteers formed a committee to promote Chinchilla’s significant contribution to the Australian melon industry.
The first festival drew around 2,500 people, both locals and from surrounding towns. More recently, attendance has shot up to over 20,000 revellers, attracting people from all over Oz! The committee still runs the festival, and their dedication yields an incredible, family-friendly event with enormously wide appeal.
If you’re wondering what the festival actually entails, it’s better experienced than read about, because the words melon skiing, melon bungee and pip spitting can only convey so much. Suffice it to say that there’s all of that plus more traditional festival events, such as live music at Lapunyah Art Gallery, melon farm tours, luncheons, a race, a trivia night and more.
There’s also activities specifically aimed at the little ones, like a children’s melon weigh-in competition, a movie night, a parade and even circus workshops!
Of course, there are also market stalls selling mouth-watering treats, many of them putting melon front and centre, so you can refuel after all the thrilling melon games.
You can read all about the festival an keep an eye out for 2027’s edition here.
Other Chinchilla must-dos
Chinchilla’s charming main street is lined with trees and is a lovely stroll down its picturesque main precinct, with the old Court House, the Post Office, and other historical buildings.
For nature lovers, the Chinchilla Botanic Parkland features the region’s fascinating Aboriginal cultural history and a stunning variety of flora, including Wattles, White Cypress Pine and, of course, Chinchilla White Gums. With lush gardens to wander in and the meandering Ephemeral Creek, this slice of paradise wouldn’t be complete without a watermelon allusion: the melon-themed water play area.
You can venture even further out, down to the Condamine River to visit the idyllic Chinchilla Weir, a freshwater haven that’s perfect for all sorts of outdoor activities like fishing, kayaking or bbqing. You can even camp under the stars!
One thing is for certain: Chinchilla is a one-in-a-melon town!