Aussies who dressed as cows in moo-velous tribute to town still hold record a decade on

It’s been 12 years since the world’s largest herd came together to set a Guinness World Records title for the largest gathering of people dressed as cows.

On 12 July 2014, a crowd of 1,352 gathered in cow costumes during the Deja Moo Country Fair in Cowaramup, Australia. More than a decade later, the record still stands!

Before this attempt, the record was held by the Town of Fairfax in Virginia, USA, where the famous fast food chain Chick-Fill-A had gathered 470 people in cow costumes. But the Aussies nearly tripled that number!

The town of celebration, Cowaramup, lies right by the Margaret River region in Western Australia. It was playfully nicknamed “Cow-Town”, as its identity is deeply rooted in farming, agriculture, and authentic rural community. Breaking a world record was truly symbolic for the town and its people.

The idea to take on the record came from Janine Darnell, a business owner born and raised in Cowaramup. Janine has been reading the Guinness World Records book since the 1970s, and when she came across a previous record for the most people dressed as cows, she immediately thought of her town.

“I said to my husband – Cowaramup could beat that record easily!” she said.

Following a huge sense of excitement across the community, her family and a group of organizers working at the annual Deja Moo Country Fair worked to bring the town together.

“The business association consisted of about eight very enthusiastic people,” Janine said. “We all took on different roles – mine was to liaise with Guiness World Records and make sure our attempt was valid. Local businesses and identities were very keen to help.”

To become such a success, the event was repeatedly promoted in local media and on social media. Cowaramup Retailers Association even had an online sale of cow costumes that people could pre-order and pick up on site. Janine said they had been able to sell over 800 onesies prior to the fair, which was a huge success, but then even more people turned up dressed the part on the day. 

Everyone gathered together wearing cow costumes and ended up making record-breaking history, bringing pride to their community.

“More and more people kept appearing – all dressed as cows!” Janine remembered. “There were cute cow babies, homemade cow costumes, bought costumes, and dogs in costumes.”

Even 12 years later, Cowaramup’s achievement in creativity and originality remains unbeaten. The town’s cow-themed branding along with setting a world record undoubtingly helped boost tourism in the area.

Some say that it has become a “minor destination” in a way and  brought people’s attention to the beautiful nature of the people of Cowaramup.

Janine is confident that they absolutely smashed it, and considering how the record has stood the test of time, we’d say she’s right!