LIFE & STYLE
You beaut, Team Bute!
by Greg Martin
The 2025 annual fundraising Outback Car Trek has surpassed all previous records in raising $ 1,580,000 for one of our nation’ s most venerated institutions, the Royal Flying Doctor Service( RFDS).
Vehicles with their crews and support vehicles from all over Australia participated in the latest trek which kicked off in Bathurst on June 28 and ended a zillion, mainly dusty kilometres later in Cairns on July 15.
The trek, primarily driving on isolated dusty roads, took the trekkers to Dubbo, Bourke, Cunnamulla, Quilpie, Longreach, Julia Creek, Karumba Point, Chillagoe and Cairns.
The first Outback Car Trek was back in 1990 and since then participants, who hail from all walks of life, have raised a whopping $ 36,595,000!
The Hawkesbury was represented by four two-man crews- Team Bute- and they did themselves proud in contributing $ 99,570 to the tally.
Windsor’ s Maurie Smith was taking part in his 25th successive Outback Car Trek and this year the contribution made by him and his co-driver, Phil Kemm, was $ 53,647.
That took his contributions to the RFDS over that quarter of a century to a tick over $ 303,000!
Funds are raised by crews through donations prior to and for a month or so after the event.
“ Each and every one of us who
participated in the trek are in awe of the generosity of those donors – we can’ t thank them enough for their wholehearted support,” Maurie said. Not only does the Trek raise muchneeded money for the RFDS, it also injects money into each of the communities where they spend the night after eating dust all day.
“ That’ s through accommodation, meals, refueling and, dare I say, muchneeded hydration,” Maurie said.
“ We also inject funds into schools, with crews providing a large array of auction items such as holiday packages and sporting memorabilia and then sinking money into the school coffers by buying most of the raffle tickets.”
The 2025 Outback Car Trek participants spent on average $ 75,000 each day over the course of the trek – and that doesn’ t include just on $ 19,000 spent at the school raffles.
Your writer asked Maurie did Team Bute experience“ any hiccups” throughout
Eagerly waiting for a well-deserved meal and“ vital hydration” are Team Bute crews and support staff.( l-r) Gerry Mifsud, Phil Kemm, Dick Hollis, Alex Doughty, Mick Bonnici, Dr Q, Paul Galante, Maurie Smith, Joe Bartolo, Phil Galea and Martin Barrie. Well done fellas!
the long journey.“ Just the one he said, and crikey wasn’ t that an experience,” he said.“ Joe Bartolo and Gerry Mifsud’ s’ 49 Ford Pickup broke a differential housing on the rear axle in the middle of nowhere on the Karumba Point- Chillagoe leg.
“ All the Team Bute cars stopped to help, which included chopping down a stout tree, cutting it to size and jacking up the pick-up and strapping the log to the axle.”
“ The vehicle couldn’ t be driven but we towed it back 14km to Hargrave Station, after which Team Bute continued our journey to Chillagoe where we organised a recovery vehicle to be sent back to pickup the Ford.
“ Apart from that, it was smooth sailing all the way!”
Maurie said the Outback Car Trek was vitally important letting outback folk in remote communities know that“ we trekkers have their backs”.
Banksia Yarns
NEW WINTER ARRIVALS
Phone: 02 4505 1615 • 3c East Market St, Richmond MON- WED & FRI 9:30AM- 5:00PM, THURS 10AM- 4PM SAT 9:30AM- 1:00PM( CLOSED SUN & PUBLIC HOLIDAYS)
Online Store: Open 24 hours
SCAN HERE TO ACCESS OUR WEBSITE
www. banksiayarns. com. au
12 ISSUE 183 // AUGUST 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT