Coota Beach: Australia’s Most Unusual Inland Beach Festival
What started as a wild idea at a local pub has become one of Australia’s most celebrated inland events.
“I was looking out the window and thought, ‘What if we put in a beach volleyball court and play a competition?’” recalls Simon Sutherland, 51, the festival’s founder. And so was born Coota Beach, right on a tar road in the middle of Cootamundra—400km from the nearest ocean.
Sutherland wanted to bring the lively vibe of Bali’s Kuta Beach to his hometown. Twenty-five years later, a single day of volleyball has grown into a three-day festival, drawing locals and tourists alike and generating around $2 million in revenue annually.
“It’s bigger than Christmas in some ways,” says 86-year-old Pat Roberts, a grandmother who never misses the festival, cheering on her family every summer.
From One Court to Ten
On a sunny Saturday, Coota Beach resembles a true beach party. Players dive, spike, and serve across ten courts while loud pop and rock music pulses down the block. Spectators cheer, and costumed teams—like a squad of Minions—bring humor and energy to the games.
Matches are fast-paced 20-minute affairs, combining indoor and beach volleyball rules. High-fives fly, sunscreen is reapplied, and courts are hosed down between games to keep the sand cool.
The first event in 2001 had 16 teams playing on a single court. Today, nearly 200 teams compete over three days, with demand so high that 40 teams were turned away.
Creating an Inland Beach
Transforming asphalt into sand paradise takes nearly a week. About 900 tonnes of sand—the weight of six blue whales or 70 double-decker buses—is brought in from a local quarry. Council workers flatten the sand mounds to create ten playable courts, complete with festival amenities.
After the finals wrap up on Sunday, volunteers and staff scoop up the remaining sand, which is sold or donated to local parks, sports fields, and construction projects. Within days, the streets return to normal, and life in Cootamundra resumes—until next year’s inland beach festival.
Coota Beach shows how a quirky idea, vision, and community spirit can turn a small inland town into a temporary beach paradise, celebrating sport, culture, and fun far from the ocean.
