General News
25 November, 2025
Event brings 15,000 visitors to Maryborough for annual innovation showcase
Crowds drummed on the barriers and rushed the finish line as Energy Breakthrough came to a close for another year on Sunday.
It’s the picture of success, despite a late-night bump in the road, as the community look back on Energy Breakthrough 2025 in the rear-view mirror.
The event’s 33rd year welcomed 3500 participants and their families, over 250 teams from 92 schools, and 15,000 visitors together injecting an estimates $3.66 million into the local economy.
It was a crowd the weather held out for, bar some rain Saturday night, allowing the teams to compete in top form.
But it’s the camaraderie, more than the competition, which Central Goldfields Shire councillor and Energy Breakthrough’s Governance Group Committee member Liesbeth Long said she loves.
“Even though it is a race, and it does get competitive, people still help each other out,” she said.
It’s a pairing local teams did in spades right through to the finish line.
While no local schools took first place on the track, many still managed a top position.
In the HPV Primary race White Hills Primary School’s Ecorush came first but was followed closely behind by Carisbrook Primary School’s Redback Junior.
In the 24-hour trial Highview College’s Mission: Efficiency took fourth place following Bendigo Senior Secondary College’s Snot Block and Half a Shoe taking first and second respectively.
It’s a race that was paused for around 30 minutes Saturday night, according to local police, when a child thought they saw a bomb.
Police said the brief interruption was a false alarm.
Despite this bump in the road ,local schools found their competitive edge off the track.
It’s an edge honed to a dominant overall position for Avoca Primary School.
Their Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) Primary team for 200 or less students called Avoca Achieve came first overall and in every category — design, display and trial.
That’s after coming seventh, out of 82 competitors, on the track.
They were followed in design by Talbot Primary School’s Wheel Wizards who also came fourth overall.
On the board was Clunes Primary School’s team Dynamite who came twelfth.
Local schools didn’t fair as well in the HPV Primary for 200 or more students, however, they did face almost four times the competition.
Out of 62 positions Carisbrook Primary School kept to the top half of the scoreboard with Redback Junior coming fourteenth overall while Redback Mercury placed 30th.
In the same competition, Maryborough Education Centre’s ‘Born to MEC a difference’ came 36th while MECamind came 49th.
In amongst them was St Augustine’s Primary School who placed 23rd with Kildare May and 34th with Kildare Barbara.
Moving up to HPV secondary competitions the older local students did well in their class categories.
In B1 Maryborough Education Centre and Highview College came second and third respectively, same as last year, with teams Giovanni and Gilmore Glider.
History repeated in B2 for the schools as well with Highview College’s The Final Rose coming second while Maryborough Education Centre’s Voltaic came fourth.
Competition was fierce between the two schools in C class with Highview College’s The Frizz coming second followed by Maryborough Education Centre’s Stampede in third.
On their first outing with an EEV Highview College also came first in the Pedal-Electric open category with team Mission: Efficiency.
It’s a laundry list of local successes which Cr Long said ended in one emotional moment at the end of the race.
“The thing that always makes me tear up, time and time again, is when they all lift the carts up to carry them away,” she said.
“To see the kids carry their vehicle that has kept them safe for 24-hours … I always find that really emotional to watch.”