BEAUT UTES
Deniliquin Ute Muster
By Bianca Hamilton-Foster
Deniliquin's
World Record Ute Muster didn't break its own record this year for the
number of utes counted, but everything else about Australia's premier
ute event was big. Deniliquin, which in just three years has become the
mecca for ute enthusiasts all over Australia, put on a display unrivalled
anywhere that there are utes and ute enthusiasts.
Utes began queuing at the gates to the new site early on the first day,
September 29. By mid-morning swirling dust, caused by hundreds of utes travelling
in convoy, signalled that organisers would again be delighted with the attendance.
As utes of all makes, models, vintages and descriptions took their place inside a designated area depicting the map of Australia, counting for the Guinness Book of World Records began.
Even 38-degree heat and flies couldn't deter die-hard ute enthusiasts
- some of whom travelled from Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
For the first time since the muster began in 1999, utes came from every
state, with one from Tasmania crossing Bass Strait on a barge.
The crowd swelled to more than 15,000 on the opening day, with at least
10,000 at the evening concert. Although the number of utes counted fell
marginally short of last year's world record of 2990, this was clearly
the biggest muster yet, with police estimating crowds over the weekend topping
30,000.
Failure to break the record was more a logistical problem that seems sure
to be overcome next year. 
Full story: Issue 20, December 01 / January 02
