One of Australia’s great pastimes, building billy carts and hoping its brakes work is no longer a distant memory in Cooma.

Since the Monaro Billy Cart Derby in 2016, hundreds of families, and racers of all ages, have thrown caution to the wind and tackled the Cooma Showgrounds track.

This year’s derby saw more than 50 racers compete, the largest field yet.

Organised by the Cooma Car Club, the derby has become one of the region’s family favourite events.

“It’s a great event and has become more popular each year,” Mr Nassar said.

“Building billy carts is a terrific pastime for many and now we have generations coming together to work on their carts.”

Community groups, the Australian Defence Force and dozens of racers from across the South East participated in the 2026 derby.

During the presentations, a special trophy was launched in honour of the late David Barron, who provided the hay bales to ensure riders a softer landing upon crashing.

Attracting hundreds of spectators each year, and dozens of racers, the derby not only brings many people to Cooma, it provided a wholesome event for the family to enjoy.

This year’s derby saw racers compete for a record prize pool with $2000 up-for-grabs.

A highlight of the derby was the support for Cooma’s Quinn Stewart. Quinn, through her parents, put a callout on social media to see if any businesses would like to sponsor her cart.

The response saw dozens of businesses, community groups and residents support her.

Quinn’s uncle Matthew built the cart and it was covered in sticks from her supporters.