Early morning starts were the norm - more often than not climbing into bed around midnight. The hours were long. The graft hard. The stress plentiful. The result? The inaugural SPYFest was a wild success.

“I got home one day and saw that my husband Platon had put a photo of me on the fridge,” SPYFest committee member Wendy Antony said.

Mrs Antony and fellow Julie Judd, self described “two crazy women”, are the nucleus of the Goulburn SPYFest committee. Along with president Mark Simon, Russell Hogan and Amelia Whalley, the committee managed to overcome the incredible logistics (and short time frame) involved and produce a festival which, despite the less than ideal weather, proved popular with locals and visitors alike.

For the SPYFest committee, the festival was always about showcasing the city and “bringing people to Goulburn”.

“We wanted to put on a show worthy of Goulburn, and one that we could all be proud of,” Mrs Antony said.

“We wanted to be big, bold, set the bar to a new high and put Goulburn on the map.

“SPYFest was about making people, who haven’t been here before, realise that Goulburn is a great place to live, and that it’s an easy commute if you want to work in Canberra”

Mrs Judd had another way of putting it; “When you aim for the ridiculous, you get the fabulous,” she said.

The “catalyst” for the event’s success was, however, the arrival of Goulburn’s very own James Bond, George Lazenby.

The former 007 star was “humbled” by the attention, according to Mrs Judd.

“I think George was quite emotional and touched by the festival. He was quite surprised and overwhelmed by how many people turned out in the Park,” Mrs Judd said.

“It wasn’t the greatest of weather, but people still turned out. Auburn St was packed.

“George’s story is quite incredible. Here is a man who was born in a country town in 1939, and who set out to do extraordinary things with his life.”

Apart from the Freedom of the City, Mr Lazenby was given another memento of his trip to his home town - a copy of ‘365 Days in Goulburn’ by local photographer Janine Dunne.

Mrs Judd said the festival wouldn’t have happened without the event’s sponsors (the full list of sponsors can be found on page 12 of today’s Goulburn Post). The ladies also thanked the Visitor Information Centre staff - Sarah Ruberto, Paige Penning, Jacki Weatherstone and Angela Remington - for their tireless work and support.

“It was a leap of faith from our sponsors, many of whom came on board before we’d confirmed that George was coming,” she said.

“We owe a lot to our sponsors, and to all those businesses who renamed themselves as part of the I Spy Central campaign.

“Everyone who took part in the parade, from the car owners to the Bond girls and everyone who walked along Auburn St - thank you!

“We want to thank George too, who we only had for a couple of days. He is 76, and I think his commitment over the many hours and long days was outstanding.”

For the moment, the committee will take a short break, before planning begins for next year’s SPYFest. However, they are hopeful that more people will come on board next year to help out.

“We’ve had one success. We’ve now got to make it two successes. And three successes,” Mrs Antony said.

And for the Lazenby trivia buffs out there, one question about his life in Goulburn has been solved.

The SPYFest ladies can confirm, after talking to the man himself, that a young George grew up in Nicholson St, not Faithfull St (his grandparents resided at 107 Faithfull St).