The small town of Coolgardie in Western Australia was much more bustling than usual over the weekend, as 4,500 people rolled in for the annual Coolgardie Rodeo and Outback Festival.
For truckies, the highlight was a truck muster that drew 39 rigs of all shapes and sizes, with a prize pot of $12,000 in cash as well as the $15,000 up for grabs in giveaways.
Event organiser Bodean Buckingham told Big Rigs: “It was amazing to see everyone who came to support the show, especially all the truckies and trucking families.
“People came from all over Australia to join in.
“We had about half an hour of bad weather, but for the most part people had a great time.”
Buckingham said the show attracted a great mix of trucks, from Macks to Scanias to Kenworths.
“The Ramsay Transport boys are always big supporters of ours, and they brought their big Peterbilt 359.
He added, laughing: “They always say, if you can’t afford a Peterbilt, you buy a Kenworth, so they gave everyone a bit of stick.”
Last year, the event donated $60,000 to charity, and Buckingham is hoping to have raised a similar amount this year.
“We’re a not-for-profit organisation that puts back into the community,” he said.
“We have no idea how much exactly we’ve raised this time, we’ve been flat out unpacking, but we know we’ve done well.”
Outside of the truck muster, which also features utes, the festival offers something for the whole family – from a junior rodeo to live music to the WA Camp Oven and Slow Cook Championships.
This year was the sixth anniversary of the Coolgardie Rodeo and Outback Festival, and Buckingham is proud of how it has grown over time.
“This is more than a half a million-dollar event to organise,” he said.
“We provide power for all our food vendors, water carts, graders and loaders, tractors and quad bikes.
“We’re very proud that a couple of hillbillies that aren’t actually qualified in putting events on are starting to do a really good community event.”
Buckingham and his crew are looking forward to coming back next year – and are hoping to attract more trucks next time.
“We’re trying to grow the truck side of things, and we’d like to incorporate ag equipment as well.
“We’d love to have more support from the trucking community and fill the whole Lady Loch truck bay.
“That’s why we do it there – we want to see it full of rigs.”