BEAUT UTES
Deniliquin 2003
Another year, another record
Story Georgie McCulloch
Photos Sally Alden and Rob Coutts
So what is it about the Deniliquin Ute Muster that attracts more than 30,000 people and, each year, a record-breaking number of utes - 3418 being officially counted this year? A walk among the rows and rows of utes quickly provides the answer. It's all about meeting up with old mates, making new friends and being part of a massive crowd with one thing in common - utes. For Bob Mackay, who has been to the muster for the past three years, it's the atmosphere. "You can sit back and relax and everyone is the same. There is no distinction in age or gender because you always have something in common," he says.
Deniliquin wrote itself into history
in 1999, claiming the Guinness Book of Records title for the largest
parade of legally-registered utes in the
world. During that first Deniliquin Ute Muster, 2839 drivers took part
– a number that keeps growing, as does the total attendance which this
year was close to a million. Some ute enthusiasts travel five minutes
from town while others, such as Northern Territorian Heath Rutland who
won the
furthest travelled ute prize this year, travel up to 4000 kilometres.
Full story Issue 32, Dec 03/Jan 04
