On Saturday, October 15 some 250 ‘shitboxes’ worth under $1500 each rolled up to the start line in Mackay, Queensland, for the 2022 Spring Shitbox Rally.
Among the 500-odd people, there were two teams from the Goulburn Valley.
‘Team Sinclairs’, consisting of Dana and Lyle Sinclair from Mooroopna in an AU Falcon, and team ‘A-Drive and Kicking’, consisting of Ern Meharry from Shepparton and his son-in-law Amba Allan in a VE Commodore.
The rally is a major fundraiser for the Cancer Council and is now in its 12th year, having raised over $33 million for cancer research in that time.
This year’s spring rally covered around 3500km, from Mackay to Darwin via Normanton, Hell’s Gate and Borroloola, and has raised just short of $2 million for the Cancer Council.
Thanks to many generous donors in the Goulburn Valley, the two teams from the region raised over $25,000 between them, a figure that includes the donation of A-Drive and Kicking’s VE Commodore, which was sold in Darwin along with scores of other ‘Shitboxes’ in a massive auction at the Darwin Showgrounds.
The participants were all split into ‘Buddy Groups’ of seven or eight vehicles and they were not to separate, no matter what. Our group was Buddy Group 9.
The first day to Charters Towers was relatively easy, with lots of sealed roads, but after that it got tougher — heatwave conditions challenged both drivers and cars. The most challenging sections were day three from Chillagoe to Normanton, with 520km of dirt, and day five from Hell’s Gate Roadhouse to Borroloola, which was over 300km of dirt, bulldust, corrugations and river crossings.
Apart from a few flat tyres and a leaking oil seal, all cars in Buddy Group 9 managed the tough conditions pretty well, but it was no surprise some other cars ‘died’ along the way.
Camp at night was usually at the local show/rodeo grounds, and meals provided by local service groups, businesses or catering firms. As you can imagine, 500 people rolling into a little outback town was a somewhat challenging situation.
The ‘Tyre Support’ vehicle was popular every evening, fixing tyres and rims, and the ‘Triage’, where sick or broken cars ended up for repairs, was also flat out, often until the early hours of the morning.
Some cars that were beyond repair were just left at the local town garage for parts.
It would come as no surprise to readers that the crystal clear thermal springs at Mataranka on the second last night were a welcome sight to all the dusty and tired drivers.
Darwin was hot and humid, and a cold beer at the finish line in front of the Hilton Esplanade was a great way to finish the rally.
Would I do it again?
Maybe.
The camaraderie from the group, friends made, the challenges and fun outweighed the lack of sleep and inconvenience of queuing for showers, toilets and food.
One thing for sure, it was the experience of a lifetime — and all for a worthy cause.
Ern Meharry
Shepparton