He has brought the Outback to the fringe of the big smoke and now Tom Oliver is going bush with a new arts celebration.
The Wynnum Fringe founder famously sourced an old Spiegeltent out Augathella way – or at least his parents did on an Outback road trip.
With the Wynnum Fringe festival growing, its CEO and artistic director figured that a spigeletent would be the perfect addition. So Oliver went bush to find the Augathella Spiegeltent, which he relocated to Wynnum as a centrepiece of that festival.
The talented performer turned impresario got a taste for the wide, open spaces during that process, which led him to expand his horizons.
After six years of dazzling audiences on Brisbane’s bayside, the award-winning Wynnum Fringe returns to the Augathella Spiegeltent from June 25 to July 12. And building on its success as one of the state’s most exciting cultural events, Oliver and the Wynnum Fringe team have launched Queensland Fringe, a new festival with statewide ambitions.
You might like
First up is The Wild West! part of the Queensland Fringe Trail, a new arts celebration delivering fringe programming west of the capital, from August 1 to 7. This inaugural trail will journey through Augathella, Charleville, Roma and Toowoomba, along the way connecting local and travelling audiences with world-class artists, live performance and vibrant festival experiences.
This trail is just the first step to the wider plan of Queensland Fringe. Hubs are planned across the state, including Brisbane, Cairns, Rockhampton and beyond, creating a lasting network of arts experiences for Queensland audiences. Oliver reflects on his Outback journey of discovery:
“I did not expect to be the owner of a spiegeltent that was rotting away at Augathella,” he says. “I’m a city slicker and I had gone out there as a city slicker. It was a revelation. The pace of life is so different, and I saw the stars in a way I had never seen them before. I had never been further west than Toowoomba before that.
Subscribe for updates
“Wynnum Fringe has grown from a COVID recovery mission into an internationally recognised fringe festival in six short years. With the countdown to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, the team and I feel very ready to take our learnings to the rest of Queensland.
“Starting in the west is a natural progression because of our friendship with Murweh Shire Council region through to our long-standing partnership with the Augathella Spiegeltent Project. Queensland Fringe is about creating meaningful opportunities for artists, communities and audiences, and we welcome local artists, venues and partners to be part of shaping its future.”
Wynnum Fringe continues as the flagship festival, anchoring the calendar with its bayside magic, while Queensland Fringe begins a new tradition of regional arts touring. Together, the festivals celebrate place, champion artists and set the foundation for a long-term vision to make Queensland Fringe the largest arts festival in the state by 2032, ahead of the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Queensland Music Festival has already done pioneering work in this space with its groundbreaking annual QLD Music Trails program and Opera Queensland has its Festival of Outback Opera, so the focus is very much turning from the city to the bush.
Meanwhile, international comedy legend Jim Jefferies and Toowoomba-based singer-songwriter Sue Ray are among the acts already signed for Oliver’s new festival.
An Expression of Interest (EOI) is now inviting artists and sponsors to join the festival, creating opportunities for both headline moments and local participation.
Queensland Fringe has been built with the support of key partners including Empire Theatre, University of Southern Queensland, Murweh Shire Council and Port of Brisbane, ensuring the inaugural trail combines professional artistry with grassroots community engagement.
The inaugural Queensland Fringe Trail runs August 1 to 7; with Wynnum Fringe returning June 25 to July 12. For more information and to submit your EOI, visit:
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
Free to share
This article may be shared online or in print under a Creative Commons licence