04 December 2023 , 17:36
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Australia's prestigious Mulletfest competition has bestowed the "mullet of the year" honour on a British doctor.
The appropriately named Dr Alistair Bush, 45, from Dorset, threw his hat in the ring 10 months ago at a pub in a small town in New South Wales as he vowed to reignite the flames of rivalry between the UK and its former territory
After claiming his prize at the annual event, Dr Bush plans to shear his barnet, place his locks in an urn, and hand it over to the Australians - in an overt reference to the well-known Ashes cricket tradition.
The British Army GP used to go for a simple short back and sides before becoming tempted by the allure of the mighty mullet during Covid lockdown. Many resorted to shaving their own heads, or darting back and forth to the barbers whenever they could escape due to lockdown laws.
He said that being in the Armed Forces allowed him to sport the rebellious look, mainly because it amused the soldiers, but that he would've tamed the mane if he'd been working in a normal surgery.
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The doctor's 30cm-long mullet won him the Australian prize (AlastairBush/BNPS)
The doctor said he only gets away with the mullet at work because the soldiers find it funny (AlastairBush/BNPS)Three years in, with a well-established mullet, he decided to fly Down Under so he could take part in the Mulletfest competition in a rural town around 80 miles north of Sydney. They were so impressed that they invited him back for the finals this weekend.
In 2018, the organisers set up the event to attract visitors to Kurri Kurri, which has just 6,000 inhabitants. It came as locals desperately tried to prevent the boozer from closing down.
This year, the event surged in popularity with thousands turning up to a motorsport park where the Mulletfest is being held.
Dr Bush showing off his locks at the award ceremony (MelindaMurray/BNPS)The doctor secured the prize in the international category, beating 13 other mullet hopefuls, for his 30cm light brown hair which reaches his shoulder blades. But he actually beat thousands in the competition, which initially started with online entries before the in-person heats.
He compared his campaign to the origins of the Ashes test cricket series. He told local media he plans to burn his mullet and give it to Australia in an Ashes-style urn. He hopes it would immortalise his locks, kicking off a new rivalry between the two countries.
He wants to spark a new British-Australian rivalry similar to the Ashes, but with mullets rather than cricket (MelindaMurray/BNPS)“There’s something quite funny, I think, about an Englishman coming to Australia and winning a mullet competition,” Mr Bush told the Newcastle Herald.
“It’s like the Ashes in reverse. You guys came out and beat us, and there was such rancour from us in 1882 that these guys could come from the other side of the world and beat us at cricket. We burnt the bails.
“If I win this thing, I will burn my mullet and send the ashes back to them in a cup.”