New Kryal Castle trebuchet is a smash hit for young and old

And guess what the knights of the Leigh Creek arena will be smashing on April 23?

"We reckon Jap pumpkins are the best. They're better, aerodynamically and slightly smaller than the others," Knight (and actor) Sir Greg Nash said.

"We can smash pumpkins - and we will!"

The 1400s-style counter-weight catapult was built of authentic materials by Ballarat artefact expert Craig Sitch - and commissioned last week with a handful of rockmelons.

The trebuchet can fling your favourite foods up to 60m across the jousting arena thanks to several hundred kilos of ballast.

It is also a big part of the castle's education program, tying in with Year 8 science curricula.

We've had a trebuchet in the past but it went out of use," experience director Phillip Leitch said.

"Now that we've got this one we're really excited.

"We've also done extensive safety training and we all have to wear steel helmets when we do this.

"We've had a really good reaction from everyone when it's been fired."

The trebuchet has become a regular feature at the medieval tourist attraction - and will be fired at 12.45pm on days when the castle is open.

This weekend Kryal Castle will be hosting its first Baroque Horse Festival since the pandemic - so the knights will give the great food fling a miss. But the trebuchet should be back in action for the public on Saturday, February 25.

The Smashing Pumpkins' performance at Leigh Creek in April will be the biggest of three in Victoria - and will follow a country music festival the day before - as well as an American-style wrestling demonstration.

It is unclear how the rock-goth-alternative band got its name, but members have reported the word 'smashing' is an adjective in this context - and not a verb.

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