Can I please have your attention for a few minutes? Not for too long, I promise. I acknowledge that many of you would rather just scroll through the accompanying photos rather than reading this short editorial. However, it would be great to set the scene a little and get you all to appreciate the magnitude and importance of the event that has heralded these images. I won’t drag it out and I’ll focus on the most important aspect – Hummingbird House. I’ll focus on the overwhelming aspect in the 844 trucks in this year’s convoy, while I’ll also focus on the positive consequences aspect – the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised. I shall also focus on the slightly obscure aspect – my first experience of Bin Juice – I’ll explain later. All I ask for is a few minutes now so we can shine a bit of an explanatory light on this truly humungous event.
We will start with the most important and motivating aspect of this phenomenal fundraising event – Hummingbird House. Hummingbird House is one of those places that we all wish we didn’t need, though thousands of families are grateful that we have it. It is Queensland’s only children’s hospice and one of only three in the entire country, a place that provides specialised paediatric care for little ones with life-limiting conditions. It is the sort of place us parents hope never to need, and it survives on the generosity and support from the people of Queensland. There is funding from the Queensland government, but events like the Brisbane Convoy for Kids play a huge role in raising much needed funds to ensure Hummingbird House continues to help Queensland families.
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The next thing to focus on is the convoy itself and the lengths it goes to in order to raise as much money as possible. Gone are the days of entry fees and charity auctions being the sole source of donations, although with 844 trucks registered and rolling, as well as more than 100 items donated for the charity auction, there are plenty of donations raised for Hummingbird House. That has never been enough for the amazing crew behind the Brisbane Convoy for Kids, who have found new ways to help raise more money, starting with the lead truck auction.
This idea has been rolling for the past few convoys and sees entrants donating and fundraising in order to get prime spots at the head of the convoy. Simply put, once you register your rig, you make an opening bid for lead truck. You can get others to jump onboard with your bid or fundraise separately and throw it all onto your tally before the auction closes. It’s even attracted an online reality show with a final Facebook bidding war. It is a great idea, and I would love to tell you it was a close fought battle, but it wasn’t. Massive thanks go out to Daniel Wyatt, MPK and all those supporting the big Mack Daniel drives, for he trounced the auction, raising $110,000 to take out the lead truck role. All up, there was over $170,000 raised in the lead truck auction from a lot of great people and stunning trucks.
The other innovative fundraising event borne from the Brisbane Convoy for Kids is the Trailer of Hope. This year, Exodas Transport donated one of its outstanding Vawdry Quad Quad B-double units to be used as the ‘Trailer of Hope’ – this setup allows businesses and people to have their names and logos added to the side and displayed on the nation’s highways, raising awareness for Convoy for Kids as well as Hummingbird House. The brand new set-up was unveiled and on display at Redcliffe Showgrounds, shining brightly behind one of Exodas’ brand new Kenworth K220s.
As this story goes to print, the amazing volunteers and committee members are still busy arriving at a final fundraising total, but it would be fair to assume, based on the amount of people at this year’s event, as well as the amount of dagwood dogs and Convoy for Kids merchandise on offer, that this year’s total will be pretty impressive.
As for the convoy itself, I can only speak from a truck lovers’ perspective and say it was a roaring success. While there was a bit of northside rain when the lead trucks left Larapinta, by the time the MPK Mack completed the 65km journey it was nothing but sunshine and lollipops. As is normally the case when you have 800 plus trucks trying to all park in the same rest area, it was a bit of a log jam once the convoy arrived in Redcliffe. It may have put a little strain on some of the air con systems, but it was a joyous sight for the hundreds of roadside fans who never relented in their traditional arm pumping air horn requests, keeping the air thick with bassy blasts until the last truck entered the show grounds.
Once the trucks and supporters did get parked up, there was no shortage of entertainment and consumables on hand. My waistline is under enough strain as it is, but the menagerie of meats and succulent array of sweets on hand meant everyone had options and I did my best to spread my food critiquing hat around. As I alluded to at the beginning, I can’t forget to mention the young Brisbane man who has started his own low sugar beverage company, naming it Bin Juice. How could I not enjoy a couple of those? Marketing 101 right there.
By the end of the day I was worn out, well fed and completely over stimulated, having walked the entire showgrounds several times in order to catch all the trucks rolling in. My multiple travels around the showgrounds appreciating all the amazing rigs made me feel nothing but sympathy for the judges. There was such a high standard at this year’s event that it was a cutthroat job to get winners for the 32 categories. They did get the winners sorted though, with the top prize going to Faadhil Deen and the amazing Mack Titan he drives for Mactrans Heavy Haulage.
Now it is time to peruse the photos and enjoy scenes of the day. I will ask that you look up Hummingbird House – the convoy may be over for this year, but this amazing Queensland institution needs our full support all year round.
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