The team behind the WA Mack Muster were delighted to hand over a cheque for $500,000 to the Harry Perkins Institute this week.
The incredible sum was raised during this year’s Muster on March 24, which saw over 8,500 people and 330 trucks converge on Quarry Farm, 40 minutes south-east of Perth.
All proceeds from the show went towards the total donation, as did the funds raised during a pre-show gala dinner and auction, with the transport industry digging deep.
Chair of the Mack Muster committee, Steven Della Bona, told Big Rigs that the committee were thrilled to be able to donate such a large sum to the Harry Perkins Institute, a research centre in WA which works to find solutions for forms of cancer which are particularly difficult to treat.
“The WA Mack Muster committee is so overwhelmed by the support that we have received from the local WA transport industry and its suppliers,” he said.
“There are still so many great people in our industry, and they are always there to support such events as ours.”
The WA Mack Muster was first held in 2020, when Della Bona decided to set up his own truck show.
“Cancer got my father last year, and that’s part of the reason I started this journey,” he said.
“I had been involved with different bike rides and that kind of thing, over the years, to fundraise for cancer research.
“So I said I would do my own truck show and try to raise $20,000 in donations.”
Della Bona massively exceeded his target, with $100,000 raised, and the biennial event has grown and grown since then.
“I want to give a very special thanks to our hard-working committee: Mathew Lawrence, Gerald Cunnold, Jason Clatworthy, Ross Cunningham, Renee Whitsed, Clem Catalano and Brandon NcNee,” he said.
“We could never imagined from our first attempt at a truck show that we would ever dream of reaching this target.”
Matt Lawrence, lead organiser of the WA Mack Muster, added: “The WA Mack Muster and Truck Show has become Perth’s premier truck show event, where the industry unites and brings the community together for a wonderful cause.
“We’re really proud of the transport industry and what it does for our nation, and it is special to see everyone gathered around together for a great cause in helping us all move closer to a future where Cancer is non-lethal.”