Australia has some pretty iconic and long running truck shows, many that have been on the calendar for years and often decades. Normally for me to cover a new truck show, I end up booking tickets abroad and chasing new experiences that way.
Now I’m not complaining – don’t get me wrong – I will never object to the idea of a new adventure to experience the joys of a new truck show. But being able to watch the gestation of a new truck show and being there as it blossoms for its inaugural event, while also being within driving distance of my liquor cabinet, well, that’s a match made in heaven for me. On the final day of Autumn, with winter weather threatening to derail it all, I got to enjoy what I believe will be a long running newcomer to the Australian truck show calendar in the Scenic Rim Truck Show.
Before we get into the what, the who and the why I wasn’t allowed access to the children’s $10 all day rides pass, we shall deal with the where. The inaugural event was held in the tiny Scenic Rim centrepiece town of Jimboomba, Queensland. The Scenic Rim is an area of rural paradise that sits about an hour south of the Brisbane CBD. While it’s not exactly a thoroughfare of heavy vehicle traffic, it nonetheless is a hive of transport aficionados, with an abundance of drivers and transport operators based in the area. It is also the home base for the lovely ladies behind this new addition to the show scene – Tracey Armstrong and Janet Smith.
Some may remember the name Tracey Armstrong – along with her husband Steve, the couple run STA Trucking and have a fleet of incredible looking trucks that run all over Australia. The name Janet Smith may not be as familiar, but it holds just as much gravitas when it comes to the Scenic Rim Truck Show. Janet is a very close friend of Tracey and 12 months ago when Tracey floated the idea of launching a local show to promote their community and raise money for an important charity, it was Janet who jumped on board to assist. With a track record of organising fetes and markets at the very location the inaugural Scenic Rim Truck Show was going to be located at, it was a perfect pairing that kicked off the concept just over a year ago.
That pretty much covers the where and the who. Let’s have a little look at the why, which is a pretty easy one – raising funds for the fantastic KIDS Foundation. Most people will know the KIDS colours and KIDS logo, but how many actually know what the foundation is about?
KIDS, which is an acronym for Kids in Dangerous Situations, supports kids who have experienced horrific injuries and trauma. There is a broad umbrella of kids within the foundation, kids who have experienced everything from accidents and burns to victims of crime or neglect. The KIDS Foundation aims to not just support those suffering but also empower and educate in order to prevent and protect others from experiencing similar fates.
The KIDS Foundation was established in 1993, and its mission is to keep children safe – it currently reaches over 400,000 kids a year. Tracey and Janet have a good friend who came through the KIDS Foundation and now works there, and it was the first choice when the ladies decided to use their love of trucks to stage a truck show and raise some funds.
That now covers the who, why and where. Let us focus on the event itself now. Tracey and Steve have a fleet of stunning Kenworths, meaning they are no strangers to a truck show and no strangers to truck show trophies. Tracey and Janet were able to draw on their plethora of show experiences.
“We’ve been to a lot of truck shows before and I really wanted to put one on in our local area because we don’t have one around here,” Tracey says.
“I thought it would be great for the community, and we could support a wonderful charity.
“We’ve been planning it for 12 months, we approached it looking to be super organised. We wanted to know exactly how many trucks we would have so we knew we would fit everyone in, and we just wanted to make it a fun-filled event for families in the community.”
Tracey and Janet worked out they could comfortably hold 120 within the grounds and as such, pre-booking was the only way to get an entry ticket for your truck. It came as no surprise that the 120 spots were sold out well before the show hit the horizon. Truck entry was $50 per vehicle, while entry to the event itself was free and that was one thing Tracey and Janet were insistent on.
“We wanted to make it economical for families as well,” Tracey says.
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“Because if you go to a show and it costs you $50 to get in, that’s $50 less you have to spend on activities or supporting the charity, so in these hard financial times we wanted to make it economical for families.”
That family friendly financial approach even extended to the kids rides that were onsite for the event as well.
“We had three big rides and a truck driving simulator and, for the kids, it was $10 a ticket and they could ride all the rides for up to six hours,” Tracey says.
That’s plenty to do for the little ones – add in a gaggle of very different food trucks, some merchandise stalls, as well as a few educational ones, and the Scenic Rim Truck Show looked to have all your needs covered. Yes, there was also a bar as well for the big kids.
In total, 12 months of planning led to a well organised concept, the only hiccup coming on Friday when good old Mother Nature decided to add a little intrigue to the environment.
“On Friday we were stressed, so stressed. We were tossing and turning whether we should cancel it, but we were committed. It was too late,” Tracey admits, albeit now she reflects back with relief that Mother Nature ended up turning out an almost faultless day come show time.
The Queensland weather meant the team didn’t quite hit the 120 cap that they had pre-sold, however it didn’t stop the trucking community from getting in and displaying some extremely sharp gear. There were all manner of manufacturers on display, from stunning DAFS and Kenworths to some wonderful old Whites and Western Stars.
At the end of the day, after some hectic bidding in the charity auction and all the other donations were added up, the Scenic Rim Truck Show was able to hand the KIDS Foundation a cheque for $30,104 – not a bad effort for the first show. The inaugural King Rig award when to the well-deserved T909 of Sanbella Transport, driven by Greg Wilson, and the charity’s choice award went to Danny Hinds and his T909.
In summation, putting on a truck show is no easy feat, and the first one will always be the hardest. Tracey and Janet were extremely appreciative of their major sponsor, MA Insurance Brokers, as well as plenty of others, like Fortuna Engineering, Exodas Transport and Highway Lights, to name but a few. Having talent like Kelly Llewellyn, Jase Lansky and Amy Ryan donate their time and talents to keep the crowds entertained also played a huge role in creating such a family friendly atmosphere.
It would be fair to say the first ever Scenic Rim Truck Show ticked all the boxes it was aiming for, and it would also be fair to say we can lock this one in on next year’s calendar as well.
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