Popular rural show makes a triumphant return

Presented by the Beaufort Football and Netball Club, the annual Beaufort Truck and Car Show was held at the Goldfields Recreational Reserve in Beaufort, Victoria on Saturday March 29.

Beaufort is a small rural town, located about 45 kilometres west of Ballarat. Since 2020, it’s been home to the annual Beaufort Truck and Car Show. Unfortunately however the event couldn’t be held last year, so this time around, many regular visitors were excited to see it was back.

Freeman’s Transport took home the trophy for Best Fleet with its impressive line-up. Image: Backroads Photography

Former president of the Beaufort Football and Netball Club, Geoff Carnes, is one of the show’s organisers, involved with the event from its inception. He says that with trucks being a pivotal part of the Beaufort community, the show serves up a great mix of trucks and cars.

“We get a lot of car enthusiasts checking out the trucks, and the truck drivers enjoy the chance to take a look at all the cars,” said Geoff.

The 2025 Beaufort Truck and Car Show saw around 70 trucks on show, with over 1000 visitors coming through the gates to enjoy a jam-packed day of activities and displays.

“There were newer trucks as well as plenty of vintage trucks too, with some of the old Whites and Kenworth W-models dating back to the 1970s,” Geoff told Big Rigs.

“The truck owners and fleets put a lot of effort into getting their trucks ready and polished up for the day.”

Frasers Bulk Transport from Tatyoon, Victoria, was this year’s feature truck fleet for the event. Image: Backroads Photography

Every year, the Beaufort Truck and Car Show chooses a feature truck fleet. For 2025, this was Frasers Bulk Transport, from the small town of Tatyoon in Victoria.

“They’ve been a great supporter of the show since the very beginning. Frasers was chosen as the feature fleet in honour of Danny Quinton, who sadly passed away a few years ago,” revealed Geoff. “He was a truck driver at Frasers and was at every one of our shows up until he couldn’t be there anymore. He always got the trucks all polished up and ready for the show.”

As part of the days’ festivities, there were truck and car awards presented – with 12 truck categories. Taking out Truck of the Show was Malcolm Blanch’s showstopping Kenworth T909.

“The trucks and cars were all in and ready for opening time at 10am and judging began shortly after,” said Geoff.

He added that the day was filled plenty of entertainment, including freestyle Motocross. It’s the first time Motocross has been included in the day’s line-up and it was a definite highlight of the day. “The Motocross was really well received by everyone. We try to make it a real family day out and provide something for everyone. A lot of visitors love coming along with the whole family,” Geoff said.

“We had entertainment provided by a singer during the day and then another at night; and there was a large kids’ corner with pony rides and scavenger hunts.”

Geoff also thanked the sponsors, who were pivotal in getting the show up and running. “We try to provide the best show we can and we can’t do that without our sponsors. They’re a major part of it and I can’t thank them enough, along with all the people who bring their vehicles along to the show.”