The Campervan and Motorhome rally coming to Bingara in October should bring large numbers of campers, if the reception given to David Rose and his team at Broken Hill is reflected in visitors.
David and Lyn Rose, Marilyn Dixon and five Gwydir Shire Council staff attended the Motorhomes and Campervan rally in Broken Hill in the week before Easter, "and we needed every one of them!" Councillor David Rose told the Council meeting, held last week in Warialda.
The Bingara stand was manned from 10am until 4pm each day as well as two nights to 9pm. All the representatives wore Bingara T-shirts, which meant that wherever they went, people pulled them up, asking about Bingara, Mr Rose said.
The T-shirts, which were designed especially for the event, were navy with a gold trim with the Bingara logo and the words "Bingara – A Gem of a Rally" on the sleeve.
The Bingara presentation for the October rally was delivered on the Wednesday night to a crowd of about 700 prospective visitors.
Warialda singer and Council employee, Jamie Flegerbein opened the presentation with his song about the "good life in Gwydir".
The crowd watched a slide show of views around the shire while the presentation was being delivered.
David Fricke, co-convenor of the Broken Hill and Bingara rallies, presented the Gwydir representatives with a Recreational Vehicle Friendly Certificate.
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Part of the Campervan and Motorhome Rally in Broken Hill.
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Bingara is the 34th town in Australia to be accredited as RV friendly and Warialda is soon to follow, once its dump site for "black water" has been installed.
Mr Flegerbein sang another song to close the presentation. Mr Rose reported that the people who attended, said it was the best presentation they’d heard. The next morning, the Bingara stand was swamped with enquiries.
Cr Rose said the Broken Hill rally was "a bit of a disaster" as it was very hot and dusty. Eight hundred motorhomes were expected, however only 513 attended.
The camping ground was 5 kilometres from Broken Hill, making accessing the town difficult and campers, desperate to run air-conditioners, experienced electricity blackouts.
Roger McGrath, Environmental Services Director, who was one of the staff members making the trip to Broken Hill, said he was glad the group had attended the rally. "Given the dissatisfaction with Broken Hill, many people would not have considered Bingara," Mr. McGrath said.
He suggested that the Bingara presence greatly increased interest in the next rally and that "everyone was impressed with the caps and the T-shirts."
Cr Rose said "If we weren’t there, we’d probably get 300 (motorhomes) less than we are now expecting."
Organisers impressed
According to Rally Manager, David Fricke, the presentation was well received and lots of very positive comments were made during the next few days.
"I would like to thank all of the towns business people who provided prizes for the daily giveaways," he said. "This proved to be a very popular initiative with a large number of entries each day."
Mr. Fricke said the Gwydir Shire representatives were able to also move around the site to inspect the facilities that will need to be provided for the Bingara Rally site. They were able to witness first hand the potential problems that they would be facing and make suitable plans to overcome them.
"Club members were impressed with the enthusiasm of ‘Team Bingara’. Great interest is being shown within the club membership and members are looking forward to being part of what we know will be a great rally in a wonderful community," he said.
Any residents who would like to Host-a-Motorhome prior to the rally should contact John Chaffey on 0429 062048 or speak to Jenny Mead at the Information Centre and complete the necessary form.
Compliments of The Bingara Advocate
