Stawell Gift

The Stawell Gift is a running race with a long history dating back to the late 19th Century. Today, this iconic race has become the most important event in Stawell’s sporting calendar.

The event is held in March/April over the Easter holidays at Central Park in Stawell. Central Park is 67 kilometres from Horsham and about a 3-hour drive from Melbourne.

Stawell Gift Race 2025 Dates, Race Times, Location, Victoria

The Powercor Stawell Gift Carnival attracts athletes from all over the world, providing an opportunity to showcase their raw talent, skill, and speed to a national audience.

The action starts on Easter Saturday with the heats of the Powercor Stawell Gift and the Powercor Women’s Gift.

Easter Monday is finals day, the pinnacle in Australian professional running. With a full day of elite running leading into the Powercor Women’s Gift and Australia’s oldest and richest short distance running race, the Powercor Stawell Gift. There’s no bigger day as Central Park comes alive to celebrate.

The Powercor Stawell Gift is one of the world’s most prestigious and iconic foot races and has been held in the Victorian town of Stawell for all but five years since 1878. Run on grass, the athletes are handicapped according to their forms, making for exciting and competitive racing.

Runners race for glory and prize money with many more dollars working their way through the bookies ring. The main races are the 120m Powercor Women’s Gift and the 120m Powercor Stawell Gift with the finals traditionally held on Easter Monday. With a prize pool of $60,000, the Powercor Women’s Gift and the Powercor Stawell Gift are the nation’s highest prize money events for short distance races and attract first class Australian and International athletes.

Unlike the World Championships or Olympic Games conducted on synthetic rubber surfaces, the Powercor Stawell Gift is run on a grass track. For the majority of the year, Central Park in the regional town of Stawell is home to local AFL football and cricket, but at Easter time it transforms into an athletics mecca. For the sprint events, the athletes run in lanes separated by lane ropes, not painted lines. The famous finish gates are one of the most iconic features of the Gift.

FASHIONS DAY

Easter Saturday at the Powercor Stawell Gift is Fashions Day, an opportunity for athletes and spectators to join in the fun and celebration of fashion. Fashions at Central Park has been a mainstay of Easter Saturday for more than 20 years. So don your finest race-going attire and celebrate your sense of style for the opportunity to win great prizes.

The 2025 Fashions at Central Park parade, will once again give ladies (and gents) the opportunity to showcase their latest autumn carnival looks at the Powercor Stawell Gift this Easter Saturday.

Since 2003, Fashions Day has played a prominent role at the Stawell Gift carnival, including the glamorous outdoor fashion parade, activities, prizes and entertainment, following the Powercor Stawell Gift Women’s and Men’s heats.

Winners of the Fashions at Central Park parade are awarded prize money, gifts and hampers. The Lady of the Day and Best Dressed Gent will receive $1,000 prizemoney while winner of the Best Hat will receive $250. The ladies winner will receive a sash in memory of elite sprinter Billie Jo Petersen.

Winners are judged on elegance, exceptional style and classic carnival race wear.

Don your most fabulous outfit and come along to the 2025 Powercor Stawell Gift Fashions Day for your chance to win. Must be aged 18 to be eligible. There is no fee to enter the Fashions at Central Park, but entrants must purchase a ticket to enter the grounds either online in advance or at the Box Office at the entrance to the gates.

FAMILY DAY

Experience the fun of Family Day at the Powercor Stawell Gift with a host of activities for the whole family to enjoy on Easter Sunday at Central Park, Stawell. And it’s all free for under 12s. Join the hunt for more than 7,000 easter eggs, get your face painted or meet the stars of Australian athletics. Enjoy family fun at Central Park even if you’re not running. Come and meet our Powercor mascots, Max and Pippa, enjoy fun activities and giveaways, or ride high above the ground to see the world like a liney.

9am – 9.25am Kids Athletics Clinic
Hosted by Olympian MattyB, the kids’ mini athletics clinic is all about having fun and learning from the best! It is open to children of all ages and abilities.

9.30am – 4.30pm Face Painting
A unicorn, a tiger, or maybe even an Easter Bunny! Polka Dot Party Face Painting will add plenty of colour and fun to your face on family day!

11.30am – 12.15pm Easter Egg Hunt
Join the hunt for more than 7,000 Easter eggs in the Stawell Gift Easter Egg Hunt in the Central Park Rose Garden. Fun for everyone from ages 3 to 12, with separate entry times for 3-4 year olds, 5-7 year olds, and ages 8+ for fun and fairness! Plenty of eggs for everyone, who also receive a special carry bag to collect their eggs.

Easter Egg Hunt times:
11:30am – 11:45am (3-4 year-olds)
11:45am – 12pm (5-7 year-olds)
12pm – 12:15pm (8+ year-olds)

1pm – 3.30pm Sports and Fun Zone with Kelly Sports
Experience all the fun of the Kelly Sports Clinic with 2.5 hours of structured sports play, including cricket, soccer, footy, tug-of-war, Crazy Games, and more. Enjoy the fun zone with Snakes & Ladders, Totem Tennis, Skipping Ropes, Spinning Plates, Frisbees, Bocce & Coits, and add some creative touches with colouring-in, bead making, animal masks, and loom bands, all included in this fun, fully-hosted session.

Tickets

Ticketek has been appointed as the Official Ticketing Partner of the 2025 Powercor Stawell Gift. All tickets must be purchased via Ticketek.

You will be able to purchase a ticket at Central Park on event day, however, attendees are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets online in advance of the 2025 Powercor Stawell Gift to eliminate queues at the event.

Ticketek Box Offices are located at the Maroon and White gates at Central Park for those unable to purchase tickets online. At the point of sale at the Ticketek Box Offices, purchasers will be required to provide personal details, such as name, date of birth, address, email address and phone number as part of the ticketing transaction in the same manner as an online ticket purchase.

Ticket holders with a Maroon Gate Ticket enter via the Maroon Gates on Main Road, Stawell, while the White Gate Ticket holders enter via the White Gates on Victoria Street, Stawell. All ticket holders have access to all facilities and areas of Central Park. The allocation of entry by the Maroon and White Gates is simply to assist with efficient entry into the venue and avoid queues.

If you have a Maroon Ticket and your friend has a White Ticket, you can still sit together and meet up anywhere in the Central Park venue. There are no quarantined zones or fenced off areas in the venue.

Sash Club Function

If you have won a race or trained a winner over nominated distance at any Stawell Gift, you are invited to attend the “Sash Club” function at the Powercor Stawell Gift.

Join Host Jason Richardson at the Central Park Stawell Football Club Rooms on the evening of Sunday April 20, 2025 with your family and friends as we celebrate Stawell Gift winners and their coaches over all distances of current and winners over the decades.

The aim of the Sash Club is to bring together the running community not only at the Stawell Gift but throughout the year to celebrate our great sport and the many friendships and connections that have gone back decades.

A nominal cost of $25 covers:

• Beer, Wine and soft drink will be available for all guests
• Finger Food

The Sash Club Function will be held on Sunday, April 20, in the Football Club Rooms at Central Park, Stawell, from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm.

LIVESTREAM

The Powercor Stawell Gift is streamed live and free on 7Plus for all three days of the 2025 Carnival. Coverage commences 5 minutes before the first race each day. Download the 7Plus app or visit 7plus.com.au to see all of the action from Central Park live.

Getting There

Located in the beautiful Grampians region of provincial Victoria, Stawell is 237 kilometres north-west of Melbourne—approximately a three-hour drive.

Central Park
Central Park is located on Main Street in Stawell, approximately 1km from the Western Highway. Ground entry is via the Stawell Athletic Club or via the entry gates on Main and Victoria streets.

Seating is available in the grandstands, or many patrons choose to bring their own chairs or picnic rugs. Catering, first aid and public toilets are also available, and free car parking can be found in the surrounding streets.

Please note: alcohol cannot be brought into the venue, but can be purchased at the ground.

Travelling by car to the Stawell Gift

From Melbourne CBD

• Head onto the West Gate Freeway towards Altona/Geelong
• Take the left fork onto the Western Ring Rd Exit at Altona North
• Continue along the Western Ring Road and take the left fork onto the Western Freeway (M8) at Derrimut
• Continue along the Western Freeway and follow signs to Ballarat
• Continue along the Western Highway and follow signs to Ararat/Stawell/Horsham (bypassing Ballarat)
• Once you reach Ararat turn right to stay on the Western Highway and follow signs to Stawell/Horsham
• Once in Stawell, from the Western Highway turn right at Seaby Street that merges into Main Street
• Arrive at Central Park Stawell

From Melbourne Airport

• Follow signs to Melbourne and merge onto the Tullamarine Freeway
• Exit at Western Freeway, towards M8/Ballarat
• Merge onto the Deer Park Bypass
• Continue along the Western Freeway and follow signs to Ballarat
• Continue along the Western Highway and follow signs to Ararat/Stawell/Horsham (bypassing Ballarat)
• Once you reach Ararat turn right to stay on the Western Highway and follow signs to Stawell/Horsham
• Once in Stawell, from the Western Highway turn right at Seaby Street that merges into Main Street
• Arrive at Central Park Stawell