David Baldwin and Ern Meharry are ready to hit the road.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Ern Meharry and David Baldwin are gearing up for the journey of a lifetime.
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Over the course of a week, the Shepparton duo will drive across the country, covering more than 3000km from Bendigo to Townsville.
Their mighty stead is a 1996 Ford Courier, a classic little ute that’s old, run down and already racked up over 350,000km.
There’s a chance it won’t even make the full journey.
Basically, the car’s a ‘shitbox’.
Mr Meharry and Mr Baldwin are taking part of the Spring Shitbox Rally, driving their shitbox cross country on some of the country’s roughest roads.
The Shitbox Rally isn’t a race, it’s a challenge. The pair, alongside more than 200 other teams, will depart Bendigo on Friday, October 18, stopping in NSW towns Pooncarie and Milparinka, before crossing briefly into South Australian town Innamincka. They’ll then cross into Queensland, stopping by Betoota, Isisford and Belyando Crossing before finishing off in Townsville on Saturday October 26, all while raising funds for the Cancer Council.
The shitbox must be worth under $1500, and Mr Meharry and Mr Baldwin got their ute for a steal.
The shitbox must be worth under $1500.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
“(We got the car from) a bloke in Kialla. He wanted $1500 for it. I told him what we were doing, and he said ‘give us $1000’,” Mr Meharry said.
“It’s a cracking little car.”
The pair spilt the cost — $500 each — and have got the ute into tip-top shape to make the drive.
“It’s got to be worth no more than $1500 on the road, so that takes a bit of manoeuvring to get that to stay within those parameters,” Mr Baldwin said.
“Central Tyre Service serviced it, CNN Automotive fixed the air conditioner, Solar City Locksmith fixed the ignition switch ... so we’ve had really good support,” Mr Meharry said.
David Baldwin and Ern Meharry have received support from many businesses in the lead-up to the rally.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
This is Mr Meharry’s second time in the rally, first competing in 2022 with his son in law, Amba Allan, who’s also joining the race this year with a friend.
For Mr Baldwin, he was roped into the trip by his friend and neighbour, but happy to take part and raise funds for a cause close to his heart.
“Cancer’s not far from any of us, we either know someone with it or we’ve got it, and I’m battling my own and it’s going better now than it was,” he said.
Mr Baldwin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019, having surgery in early 2020.
“Four years later, it’s popped up again at the beginning of this year and I’ve had some treatment,” he said.
So far, the mates have raised over $21,000, positioning themselves in the top 10 of all entrants.
“It’s actually been a buzz raising the funds, like we’ve got stuff donated, we’ve had mechanical work done on the car,” Mr Meharry said.
“We’ve hit friends and other people up for straight donations, but we’ve also been doing things like collecting cans.
“We also held a fundraiser one night, we had 30 blokes in my shed, with beer, wine, a big screen, everything was all donated.”
Paul Phillips and Melrose Estate donated the alcohol for the event, and Sounds Around supplied a screen for them all to catch a “disappointing” Carlton vs Geelong game. In addition, GV Health prostate cancer specialist Sonia Strachan attended to have a chat to everyone about the cause.
That fundraiser alone raised them $3100.
So far the spring rally has already raised over $2 million, and in total since the rallies began, the event has raised almost $50 million for Cancer Council.
Both Mr Meharry and Mr Baldwin are ready to hit the open road and make the long journey to Townsville, where their wives will meet them at the finish line.
“The plan for us is if ours makes it, we’ll drive it home, too,” Mr Baldwin said.
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