The Shitbox Rally is a long-distance motoring event run in Australia as a fundraiser for cancer research, originally an annual event but increased to twice-yearly in 2019.
The Shitbox Rally is a long-distance motoring event run in Australia as a fundraiser for cancer research, originally an annual event but increased to twice-yearly in 2019.
Shitbox Rally was founded by James Freeman in 2009. He secured an agreement from Cancer Council Australia to lend its name to the project, on the proviso that all monies would be directed to Cancer Council Australia. Freeman estimated a profit of $20,000 in the first year and to get the ball rolling, he canvassed friends and relations to take part.
The Sydney Morning Herald 's Drive column, Seven Network 's Sunrise program and Unique Cars magazine ran feature stories, and other print and electronic media followed. Triple J arranged for one of their presenters, Tom Tilley, to participate, sending reports back to Sydney, and capturing moments on videotape. 23 two-person teams registered for the event, which raised $104,000 [1] , well above the most optimistic predictions.
Effectively, a team of two needs to raise a minimum of $5,000 to participate in the rally. The only stipulations for the car are that it is worth/valued at no more than A$1,500 and that it's not an AWD/4WD vehicle. Costs of vehicle registration and roadworthiness checks are not included in the budget, nor are some safety items.
At post-event celebrations there are awards presented to the biggest fundraisers, and other awards are given in various light-hearted categories which may change at the whim of the organisers: "Least likely to make it"; "Best car"; "Best team theme" (dressing up the vehicle is part of the fun, but not mandatory); "Best breakdown"; "Best repair"; "Spirit of the Rally".
Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set while finishing second to Marie-José Pérec's number-four time at the 1996 Olympics. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she had lit the Olympic Flame.
Peter Geoffrey Brock, known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Volvo, Porsche and Peugeot. He won the Bathurst 1000 endurance race nine times, the Sandown 500 touring car race nine times, the Australian Touring Car Championship three times, the Bathurst 24 Hour once and was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2001. Brock's business activities included the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) that produced Brock's racing machines as well as a number of modified high-performance road versions of his racing cars.
Adam Barrington Spencer is an Australian comedian, media personality and former radio presenter. He first came to fame when he won his round of the comedic talent search Raw Comedy in 1996. Soon thereafter, he began working at Triple J, on mid-dawn and drive shifts before hosting the Triple J Breakfast Show with Wil Anderson. He later hosted Breakfast on 702 ABC Sydney.
Michael John Clarke is an Australian former cricketer. He was captain of the Australian cricket team in both Test and One Day International (ODI) between 2011 and 2015, leading Australia to victory in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He also served as captain of the Twenty20 International (T20I) side between 2007 and 2010. With his time representing Australia, Clarke won multiple ICC titles with the team: the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the 2015 Cricket World Cup which he was the winning captain, and the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy.
Kitty Flanagan is an Australian comedian, writer and actress. She is known for her performance in the television comedy program Fisk, which she also co-created, co-wrote and co-directed. She spent eight years based in the UK and performing around the world (2001–2009) and has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Just For Laughs in Montreal, Canada. Flanagan won the AACTA Award for Best Comedy Performer in 2021 and the Silver Logie Award for Most Popular Actress in 2022 for her performance in Fisk.
The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was Holden's semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1986, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and Sports Sedan races during the 1970s. From 1980 the Holden Dealer Team, by then under the ownership of Peter Brock, diversified into producing modified road-going Commodores and other Holden cars for selected dealers via HDT Special Vehicles.
The following lists events that happened during 1966 in Australia.
Grant Craig Denyer is an Australian television and radio presenter and motor racing driver, who has worked for several television networks, including Seven Network and Network 10, mostly serving as a presenter. He previously hosted Family Feud and Australia's Got Talent. Currently, he hosts Network 10's main game show Deal or No Deal.
Carrie Bickmore is an Australian radio presenter, comedian and former television presenter. She currently co-hosts the national drive radio show on the Hit Network, Carrie & Tommy, from 3–6pm weeknights alongside Tommy Little. She was previously a co-host on Network 10's talk show The Project from 2009–2022.
Toyota Australia is an Australian subsidiary of the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. It markets Toyota products and manages motorsport, advertising and business operations for Toyota in Australia. It is also responsible for Lexus vehicles in Australia.
Motorsport is a popular spectator sport in Australia, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. The oldest motorsport competition in Australia is the Alpine Rally which was first staged in 1921 followed by the Australian Grand Prix, first staged in 1928. The most widely watched motorsport category is Supercars, especially at the Bathurst 1000. Other classes in Australia include Australian GT, Formula 3 and Formula Ford, Superbikes, as well as various forms of speedway racing.
Rolo Mestman Tapier otherwise known as Lord Bloody Wog Rolo was an activist and colourful eccentric Sydney identity. He initially achieved notoriety for his anti-monarchist statements and activities and became one of the early members of BUGAUP. His provocative and sometimes confrontational manner, particularly with police, saw him detained or arrested on minor charges a number of times.
The Scumrun is an annual charitable event in the form of a road rally from the United Kingdom to mystery destinations around Europe. It has been running since 2006, originally as the Scumball 3000.
Carly Wilson is an Australian former basketball player. She played for several teams in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), including the Dandenong Rangers, Australian Institute of Sport, Perth Lynx and Canberra Capitals. She represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games, where the team won a gold medal.
The Round Australia Trial was a long distance rally, which was run on multiple occasions between 1953 and 1998, circumnavigating Australia. Its early years were tremendously popular as the roads through large portions of the country, particularly west of Adelaide, were unformed. Automobile manufacturers enthused over the event as it provided a particularly severe test event for their products, proving their cars were able to stand up to whatever conditions remote Australia could provide. Early editions of the event were heroic tests and were front-page fodder for the newspapers of the era.
Uber Carshare was an Australian company that facilitated peer-to-peer car rental, a system by which individuals may rent privately owned vehicles on an hourly or daily basis to other registered users of the service.
Damien Thomlinson is an Australian commando, swimmer, rally car navigator, para-snowboarder and author. He joined the Australian Army in 2005, and went on to serve in Afghanistan. While serving with the 2nd Commando Regiment in Tarin Kowt District in April 2009, the vehicle he was in drove over an improvised explosive planted by the Taliban. Thomlinson was severely injured, suffering wounds to his face, arms and legs; the damage to his legs was so severe that they were amputated. After undergoing extensive rehabilitation, he stayed with his unit in a desk job. In June 2011, to honour the memory of a friend who died in Afghanistan, he walked the 96-kilometre (60 mi) long Kokoda Track on rubber prosthetic legs as part of a 25-man team of Australian soldiers.
The Nomads Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle club in Australia with a large number of chapters and members nationwide. It was founded in Newcastle in 1968. A number of countries have motorcycle clubs called "Nomads Motorcycle Club", e.g. Australia, South Africa and Germany, and there is a Nomads gang in New Zealand.
Electric vehicle policies in Australia include incentives such as electric vehicle subsidies, interest-free loans, registration exemptions, stamp duty exemptions, the luxury car tax exemption and discounted parking for both private and commercial purchases. The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in Australia is driven mostly by state-based electric vehicle targets and monetary incentives to support the adoption and deployment of low- or zero-emission vehicles.