The Murray Darling Madness crew is Doug Fehring, Geoff Kendell, Lindsay Schultz and Mal Johnson.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
Car number 33, a 1988 Nissan Patrol driven by four mates with a passion for irrigation and agriculture, will hit the open road on August 16 with more than 80 other participants in this year’s Variety Bash.
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The car — named Murray Darling Madness — will be driven by Doug Fehring, Geoff Kendell, Lindsay Schultz and Mal Johnson.
Together the four men have a farming history spanning decades, predominantly in the Gannawarra Shire.
They have all seen their share of good times and high prices, along with the tough times of drought, floods and low prices.
But they say never have they seen a more destructive period than the last decade under the guise of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan — hence the name of their vehicle.
The men are determined to draw attention to the issue while giving back to sick and special needs kids.
Raising money is a key component of the Variety Bash and together they have managed to raise more than $30,000 through donations and a community trivia night.
The trivia night was held at Benjeroop and was well supported, raising more than $5000.
Lindsay said he was proud of the support offered up by his home area.
Geoff said they had also had a great response from the business sector both locally and further afield.
“The Patrol is now covered in stickers advertising local business through to some big companies who have all jumped on board and thrown their support behind us — we have been blown away by all the support,” Geoff said.
“The bash is not political, but it is an opportunity for us to educate the wider community on what is happening in our area, while raising some much-needed funds,” Doug said.
The bash gets under way on August 16, leaving from Swan Hill, and eight days later — all being well — the boys will cross the finish line in Airlie Beach in Queensland.
The Patrol has been deemed worthy of making the journey after a detailed scrutiny of its mechanics and with 350,000km on the clock already, the trip should be a walk in the park for what could just about be deemed a vintage model.
With a distinct lack of modern comfort and no technical advantages like sat nav, the men have improvised and downloaded a trip meter app to help with navigation.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, God knows where we will end up,” Doug said.
“We are hoping we won’t need any assistance from the tow truck or the team of mechanics who follow the bash,” Lindsay said.
“It is going to be a great experience and we can’t wait to get going,” Mal said.
The four mates all agree it’s a privilege to be in a position to give something back and to help make kids’ lives better.
“Young kids in isolated rural communities do it particularly hard and it will be great to put some smiles on their faces,” Geoff said.
“And while we are travelling through, we will have an opportunity to educate other communities about what has happened to our community since the Murray-Darling Basin Plan came in — the economic and social loss along with the environmental damage,” Mal said.
The Variety Bash is a children’s charity to help kids living with disability and illness. It provides support through the provision of grants, running of programs to educate and empower children falling through the cracks, along with holding events to bring joy, light and laughter to children in need and their families.
If you would like to follow the group’s journey or donate to Car 33 Murray Darling Madness, use the QR code and follow the prompts.
