Gotham’s Finest – Two-Face (Cam Bourne), Harley Quinn (Aimee Nastasi) and the Joker (Brandon Walker) – attempt to psych out the competition before the 2025 Unfenced Asylum Challenge. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
The scenes were like something out of a twisted-yet-entertaining horror movie when teams vied for glory in one of the strangest events of the Cooktown Discovery Festival on Saturday afternoon.
From defrosting meat pies to fool’s gold, broken hobby horses to filling a bucket with a sponge, hundreds of spectators were in stitches as they lined Charlotte Street outside the West Coast Hotel for the 2025 Unfenced Asylum Challenge.
After what felt like a dozen attempts to explain the rules of the one-of-a-kind challenge to confused and possibly over-hydrated competitors, the starting whistle sounded and the three-leg relay began amid skolled drinks, half-chewed pies and some incredibly close calls hovering over a wheelie bin.
Nothing to see here, just a man having a moment with his defrosting pie. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Given the name of the competition, it was fitting some of Arkham Asylum’s most notorious residents – Gotham’s Finest – took this year’s challenge crown after laying waste to the competition.
The trio of the Joker, Two-Face and Harley Quinn – Brandon Walker, Cam Bourne and Aimee Nastasi – dressed to impress and put their victory down to a paraphrased team motto borrowed from a certain Talladega race car driver.
“If you’re not first, you’re the first loser,” laughed Mr Bourne after the cheering outside the pub subsided.
“The only thing going through my mind was, ‘don’t spew, just eat the pie’.”
Mr Walker, who looked at ease dressed as Heath Ledger’s incarnation of the Joker in a nurse’s uniform, said he believed the wardrobe choice played a part in the team’s victory.
“I got told I had to dress up as the Joker, so I go the nurse’s outfit and it turned out to be a very athletic outfit – I was able to go full motion and just perform at my best,” he said.
“Full credit to the team, to Two-Face and Harley Quinn, I couldn’t have done it without them.”
When you’re tucking into a defrosting pie, it’s sometimes better for all concerned if you do so over a wheelie bin. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Ms Nastasi, who is rumoured to have been recruited for her speed across the Charlotte Street asphalt, not her pie-eating prowess, said the team had adopted an “if you can’t be good, be good at it” mentality before the challenge.
“I got a call to join the team and I thought, ‘is this a compliment, or is not a compliment?’” she said.
“It was crazy but it was so much fun; we’ll see if we come back next year to defend our crown.”
The Cooktown Ring-Ins took out second place in the challenge, with the Mad Hatters taking home bronze.
Sometimes, one beer just isn’t enough. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Brandon Walker shows he knows his way around a cold pie – and questionable fashion choices – on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
It’s probably easier if you don’t ask about the hobby horse. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
