An event held at a rural Queensland pub over the weekend has sent the town buzzing, with $12,200 raised for mental health charity Our House Our Haven.
Despite heavy rain in the lead-up to the event, on Saturday November 16, the sun was shining as visitors flocked to the barn at Rudd’s Pub for a fun-filled day, all for a worthy cause.
The event was organised by the West Brook Truck Drivers Association (WTDA), together with Rudd’s Pub – located in the small historic town of Nobby, which is about halfway between Toowoomba and Warwick.
Built in 1893, the pub is now owned by retired truck driver Evan Jones and his wife Gayle Jones.
And over the weekend, it set the scene for this inaugural event, which attracted 171 people through the doors.
“It was an overwhelming turn-out for our first event. It was our first go at putting the day together. It got really busy by midday – we had such a big influx of people,” said Darren Eyers, who organised the event together with fellow WTDA members Shirley King, Evan Jones, Mick Williams, Neville Eyers and other association members.
Based in Toowoomba, Darren is a truck driver, who’s been on the road for over 40 years – currently doing the Brisbane to Darwin run, carting general freight.
He says most of those in attendance at the weekend were from the trucking industry, however the event also attracted local farmers too.
A range of trucks were all shined up and lined up outside the pub, with a showcase of 16 rigs old and new.
Some of the vintage beauties were courtesy of the Rocklea Heritage Truck Club, including a 1978 W-Model Kenworth and a 1977 Atkinson.
“We were really lucky to have such great weather on the day. It was a hot day and close to 800 drinks were sold.
“The owners of Rudd’s Pub donated $1 for every can of drink sold and supplied them, which was $482. There were also 300 cans donated by Carlton and XXXX.”
There was a raffle held on the day, with 800 tickets sold, and an auction featuring six items up for bidding.
As Darren revealed, he had to rewrite the donation cheque three times!
“When the money was tallied, I forgot about the bucket on the stage where people could request a song for a donation. Then we had a local business, called BK Civil Group, who said they’d match whatever amount was in the bucket. Then we also some had late donations as well.”
Our House Our Haven was initially presented with a cheque for $9570 at the event, but then Darren presented the updated cheque of $12,200 the following day.
The mental health charity is led by nurses and specialises in the treatment of severe and complex mental health issues, including PTSD and depression.
Our House Our Haven co-founder Bethany Porter was at the event, where she spoke about the charity’s important work.
Rural mental health specialist Dr Tim Driscoll from the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) also gave a talk, which was well received by all.
Following the success on the day, Darren says the organisers would like to make this an annual event.
“We’re hoping to make it bigger and better each year and are talking about getting the rural community involved as well as the transport industry,” he said.
“A huge thank you to all our sponsors too, both private and businesses, as without their support, these sorts of events would never get off the ground.”