Save the date for our brand new Bi-annual Camp Oven Cook Off, or COCO for short. This year it will be at the Coolah NSW Showground. This is a follow up to our Coolah Adopt a Town Drought Aid event in 2019.

Did you know that the show is wholly owned by the members of 4WD NSW and ACT? It showcases our clubs and promotes 4 Wheel Driving as a legitimate recreation. It supports the 4wd industry, worth in excess of $2 Billion to the NSW economy.

In partnership with Red Cross we offer first aid courses at reduced prices for our members and their families. Our fantastic relationship with ARB, has allowed us to negotiate a great price to include an ARB snake bite kit for the first 100 members.

In 2010 a rockfall at Monaghans Bluff cracked the road and it became impassable. The NSW government provided $2m to Bathurst Regional Council to see the road reopened, which will see a 2km detour around the top of the escarpment. Some land has been acquired to divert the track around the Bluff to avoid future falls.

The work is expected to take less than 12 months. This is a huge win for families, anglers, riders, campers, adventurers and 4WD enthusiasts. This will grow tourism in the local area and provide a huge economic boost for the region. Re-linking Hill End with Bathurst after so many years is a win for local residents.

There is much excitement generated by this announcement within the local community and user groups. A big thank you to (Left to Right), Sam Farraway (MLA Bathurst), Hon Paul Toole (State Member for Bathurst), Bobbie Bourke (BRC, Mayor), Roger Pollett (4wd NSW & ACT, Land Projects).

One large group headed off to an area of Wyong State Forest along with large trailers and the Forest Corp truck while the two other groups headed off to Curtis Road and Tobins Road with their trailers. It is amazing the amount and type of rubbish people dispose of in the bush. Everything from bicycle frames, tyres, children’s toys, building materials, car parts, clothes and a large plastic swimming pool among other things were extracted and taken to the tip. 

By lunch time workers and loads of rubbish began to trickle in to the BBQ area.

The superbly prepared sausage sandwiches were gratefully demolished and the cold soft drinks and water hit the spot. 

A silent auction which raised $50 for Camp Quality was held for a 2.3 litre pail of honey donated by a local beekeeper who turned up and praised our efforts. 

45 people, including 5 kids, 8 trailers, 1 truck, removed 6.2 tonnes of rubbish including approximately 100 tyres from the bush.

3 Four Wheel drive Clubs attended: Forest Corporation provided a truck and driver. The Report Illegal Dumping Squad sent two investigators. Well Done Everyone!

CWF 4WD Club gave up a lazy Sunday at home with the kids to clean up mess left by others. It's important to do this quickly because if left, others with add their "tags" to it.

Club members brought rags, brushes, buckets and carted up the water to clean the orange paint left behind by selfish people. Our clubs promote "leave nothing behind" philosophy.

Doing this teaches our children to be better than the people that left the orange paint. The Lost City is a beautiful area on the Newnes Plateau that is there for us all to enjoy. 

On March 1st, Clean Up Australia Day, the Black Diamond Recreational 4wd Club Inc and the Illawarra Suzuki 4wd Club joined forces to clean up Towradgi Beach and Fairy Meadow Beach through to Puckeys Reserve Wollongong.

The two clubs were granted special permission to drive the beaches for the registered Clean Up Australia Day Event. A long day in the sun cleaning up two beaches with 10 vehicles and 17 people signed up to help.

Rubbish collected consisted of the usual bottles and plastics but they also came across 4 lounge chairs dumped up high in the dunes that they removed. Once again these beautiful beaches are safe and rubbish free.

The Telegherry Camp Ground within the Chichester State Forest had sustained significant damage through an inconsiderate act of vandalism from irresponsible people on a recent weekend of destruction at the Telegherry Camp Ground during a wet weather event.

After lunch, concreting the bollards took place and the continuation of flattening out the campground using a vehicle doing reverse circle work slowly towing around a makeshift leveller to flatten out the wheel ruts then spread the grass seed as evenly as possible.

Clubs from 3 regions responded to the call. Port Hunter 4wd, Black Diamond 4wd, Triple Diamond 4wd, Era Recreational, Crossed Up 4wd, and CWF 4wd.
There was also a local resident, Jamieson Reading who wanted to assist in the rehabilitation of the area.

What transpired was indeed serendipitous. Thanks to the Association, National Parks, Getabout Training, and the commitment from our members, a number of club members were able to undertake chainsaw training and certification.

We caught up with the ranger and had a great chat and on his suggestion headed to Wingello. It started that day when we visited The Un-named Café. Wingello is a small community with a single shop and a railway station.

The overall task is huge but as Graham keeps reminding us every little bit helps, this is an endurance course not a glamorous sprint. Hard work for the locals for a long time and hopefully we can contribute over the coming months/years.

Nerriga is a small town in need. The fires are not over for them and they have already lost 20 homes. Black Diamond has a special bond with this town as they have a club property in the area.

Chainsaw training comes in handy during emergencies. Members helping out the locals by clearing the access roads so residents could get into their properties safely.

Nerriga required specific items to help them at this time.  So club members and their friends donated what they asked for.  Gas cooking equipment, crockery, cutlery & storage containers.

On the weekend of March 14 & 15 2020, members of the Wagga Wagga Four Wheel Drive Club were very pleased to be able to support the Adelong BlazeAid camp and to again show support for those devastated by the January bush fires which smashed our neighbours in the South West Slopes, especially Adelong, Tumut, Batlow, Tumbarumba, Talbingo, Cabramurra, Rosewood and Jingellic as well as the areas around Tooma and Corryong in northern Victoria.

As well as the BBQ weekend, club members have directly helped out farmers with fencing, done an “empty esky” day trip, plus volunteered at the Wagga Wagga community evacuation centre during the fire emergency. Because Kosciusko National Park was also severely damaged by the same fire with many historic huts destroyed along with camp grounds and so on, our Club has offered to assist NPWS and Kosciusko Huts Association in the recovery effort.

There are also a BlazeAid camps at Tumbarumba, Jingellic and Corryong. In addition to rebuilding fences, the moral and financial support provided to the communities is amazing.

I must thank our Club members for putting their hands up to help out. Our ready support for our community makes me proud.   John Kent.

Dennis and Carol were the camp hosts for BlazeAid who run a tight ship, they had all the answers to any questions we threw at them, they have been there for around 3 months and have another 3 months to go. Having completed 60 of the 160 properties.

We sat down to fill in paperwork about next of kin contacts and safety requirements, a quick run down of the operation introducing us to the kitchen prep area for lunch making, and team lists which was very organised.

500 metres of fencing needed replacing, previous wooden corner posts were burnt below ground level so set out was a bit difficult to start with.

We got to work removing old fencing, and setting up corner posts for the new fences, the corner posts were put in with an auger and concreted in place, we also had to go back to Nerriga to pick up galvanised fence posts and 130 star pickets.  The new fence has barbed wire at the top and 5 runs of plain wire under.  

6am Saturday and it was breakfast time, this consisted of bacon, eggs sausages baked beans and tomato, cereal and toast.

Lunch was made by ourselves with sandwiches, fruit, small chip packets etc, and with food packed in the esky and water in second esky as we gathered together. Our team consisted of Geoff, Mark and I plus 1 other with Alan the team leader, we were given a new job at Nerriga.

Lots of water and food distributed to the volunteers by Lismore 4x4 Club for those in need with the financial support of our Association.

Energy snacks and throat lozenges for those who are fighting on the fire front. Easy food to keep them fueled. A small thank you for all they do.

Lismore 4x4 Club doing their bit to help those that are hardest hit by these fires. A small club making a big difference in Lismore.

Water is in short supply in this region. The members of Casino 4wd Club are helping the local community with donations of water and food.

Casino 4wd Club, a small club with a big heart, doing what they can to help.  Members rallied together at short notice to make these deliveries.

The members of Casino 4wd Club with the financial support of our Association have been able to make a difference in the lives of people who need it.

Farming families and others struggling from the ongoing drought crisis have been blessed with a little bit of kindness from Macarthur 4WD Club.

Aussie Helpers is a charity doing such great work to ensure farmers across Western NSW are getting the help they need, making use of everything they receive.

The donations will go towards helping farming families who have been hit hard by the drought, and other people who have also struggled because of it.

Maintenance Day - March 31st 2019

The homestead was established around the 1850's, one of the first routes from Glen Innes to Grafton.

The Grafton & Districts 4wd Club has been working with National Parks and Wildlife Services for over 15 years to get this piece of Clarence Valley history to where it is today. Another cracker of a day to attend to Cunglebung Homestead.

Twice a year club members attend to mowing, whipper snipping and tidying up around this homestead.

The Club has most members registered as NPW&S Volunteers, they give freely of their time and equipment to perform this task, this is also behind locked gates as are other huts that the club helps to maintain. The drought has gripped the area, many of the creeks & springs have run dry, the country is hurting.

These days are a great opportunity for our members to get out, especially after an extreme fire season that has prevented the club from traveling many of tracks and trails that we like to frequent.

Written by Jon Kenny, President of Grafton & District 4wd Club.

Thank you to the members of the Grafton & Districts 4wd Club for your time and your effort.