Lovers of the Bulldog brand gathered in the Perth suburb of Whitby for the inaugural WA Mack Muster and Truck Show at Quarry Farm, to celebrate over 100 years of Mack down under.
The trucks were shined up and looking their Sunday best, when the show took place on 29 November, drawing in crowds of around 3000 people, who were keen to cast their eye on the 140 trucks on display – more than half of which were wearing the Mack badge.
This year has thrown so many curveballs our way, with countless events put on hold right across the country, including lots of truck shows. So could this be a sign that these much-loved truck shows are on their way back? We sure do hope so.
The WA Mack Muster was put together by Brandon McNee, Steve Della Bona, Clem Catalano, Jason Clatworthy, Julie Gavin, Susanne Alexander and Matt Lawrence; who all work in various roles within the heavy transport industry.
With Mack having recently celebrated its 100th birthday, they saw it fitting to mark the occasion with a special event. Though the trucks were the stars of the show, the WA Mack Muster was part of a much bigger agenda – to raise funds for the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.
On the eve of the big day, a special dinner was held at Quarry Farms, with 200 invited guests. This, combined with entry ticket sales to the WA Mack Muster, competition entry fees, sponsorships and an auction, resulted in over $80,000 raised for the committee’s chosen charity.
“The event was great, even better than expected. Being the first WA Mack Muster, it was always going to be a bit of an unknown. We had been planning this since March and managed to pull it all together. There was a lot of interest from the eastern states too. We were hoping the borders would reopen sooner, but by the time they did, it was a little too late,” said McNee, who is also Dealer Principal at Truck Centre WA.
During the WA Mack Muster and Truck Show, several awards were handed out, including 17 trophy categories. Truck of the Show was awarded to Barry Napoli’s 1988 white and red Mack Super-Liner. The People’s Choice Mack award went to Steven and David Della Bona’s beautifully restored W.A. Limestone 1990 Mack Value-Liner. And an immaculate 1961 Mack B61, owned by Mel Taylor, was named Best Vintage Mack.
The awards also took visitors through the decades. Rob Rutherford’s yellow Mack Flintstone was named the Best Mack 1970-1979; Jason Clatworthy’s 1989 Mack Value-Liner took out Best Mack 1980-1989; Danny Magenta’s gun metal grey Stacks Haulage 1990 Mack Value-Liner won the Best Mack 1990-1999 award, Jamie Puglia’s red 2002 Mack Fleetliner received the Best Mack 2000-2009 award; and Chris Firbank’s 100 Year Mack Super-Liner, with its impressive bulldog artwork on the back, took out the Best Mack 2010-2020 award.
Though this was the first WA Mack Muster, its success means it most likely won’t be the last. “We’re still yet to decide on when the next one will be. It will certainly continue, we just need to decide whether to make an annual or bi-annual event,” added McNee.