Ute muster
Encyclopedia
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
which brings together large numbers of utes
Coupé utility
The coupé utility automobile body style, also known colloquially as the ute in Australia and New Zealand, combines a two-door "coupé" cabin with an integral cargo bed behind the cabin—using a light-duty passenger vehicle-derived platform....
(short for 'utility vehicles') and ute enthusiasts. These events typically include competitions and other side events, occur annually, and normally last several days. The musters are part of ute culture in rural and regional areas of Australia.
These events can be seen as a more rural version of the Summernats
Summernats
Summernats, short for Summer Nationals, is a car festival held in Canberra, Australia. Summernats is held annually, usually at the start of the year. Summernats is the best known car festival in Australia, and an event which attracts many tourists to Canberra, bringing about $12–$15 million to the...
, a festival which promotes a wider range of car culture.
The Caboolture
Caboolture, Queensland
Caboolture is an urban centre approximately north of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. Caboolture is considered to be the northernmost urban area of the greater Brisbane metropolitan region within South East Queensland, and it marks the end of the Brisbane suburban commuter...
Urban Country Music Festival, which features a "Beaut Ute" competition, is a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
festival established in 2004. www.urbancountry.com.au
Background
Often ute musters are combined with a larger festival such as a rodeoRodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
, agricultural show
Agricultural show
An agricultural show is a public event showcasing the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show , a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment...
or music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
, and are usually sponsored by companies which are local to where the muster is being held.
Ute musters are often mis-represented as being attended by yobbo
Yobbo
Yobbo or yob is a slang term for an uncouth or thuggish working-class person. The word derives from a back slang reading of the word "boy" .-Britain:Dr. C. T...
s who just like to drink, this is no longer the case, but instead an outlet for enthusiastic ute owners to show off their pride and joy in their vehicles which are personalised with lights, stickers, bull bars, and various after-market add-ons. They are generally held to raise money for towns, charities and local causes, and have run in conjunction with agricultural shows or Bachelor and Spinster Balls which raise money for local charities.
The Deniliquin
Deniliquin
Deniliquin, known locally as "Deni", is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales close to the border with Victoria.Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina and Cobb Highway approximately south west of the state capital, Sydney and north of Melbourne...
Ute Muster is the largest event of its kind in the world. It is a stand-alone event which began as a celebration of all things Australian and the Aussie icon of the ute, and has developed into a two-day festival, with live music concerts, ute driving competitions, the Australian National Circle Work Championships TM, show and shine arena, and bull ride.
Ute enthusiasts tend to have an obsession with bumper sticker
Bumper sticker
A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles - although they are often stuck onto other objects...
s, often covering the entire rear window of the ute with them. Accumulating the most different stickers is a sort of status symbol which is often the deciding factor in many of the Beaut Ute competitions (see below). Some of the popular stickers are Bundaberg Rum
Bundaberg Rum
Bundaberg Rum is a dark rum produced in Bundaberg, Australia, often referred to as "Bundy".The Bundaberg Distilling Company owns its own cola-producing facility, which supplies the cola for its ready-to-drink Bundaberg Rum and Cola products.-History:...
, Holden
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
, Jim Beam
Jim Beam
Jim Beam is a brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky. It is currently one of the best selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 , seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the company that produces the brand, which was given the name...
, Deniliquin
Deniliquin
Deniliquin, known locally as "Deni", is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales close to the border with Victoria.Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina and Cobb Highway approximately south west of the state capital, Sydney and north of Melbourne...
Ute Muster and the Conargo Pub.
Beaut ute
The event itself involves a congregation of ute enthusiasts who enter their utes in a number of competitions, sometimes referred to as a Beaut Ute Competition. Some of the typical categories are:- Best FeralFeralA feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
Ute – the dirtiest, worst maintained, lived-in Ute - Best B&SBachelor and Spinster BallsBachelor and Spinster Balls events are hosted regularly in rural Australia, known locally as "B & S Balls" or simply "B&S's". They are staged for young spinsters and bachelors and traditionally the couples dress up in formal wear. Large volumes of cheap alcohol such as beer, spirits, Bundaberg...
Ute – generally decorated with bullbars,headlights,stickers of alcohol brands or rodeo/ute musters and various pubs - Best 4WD
- Best Classic Ute – pre-1980 in most original condition.
- Best Chick's Ute – Ute owned and maintained by a woman.
- Best Street Ute – immaculate, gleaming condition.
- Best Trade Ute – Ute decorated with equipment from a particular trade.
- Best Rural Ute – decorated for the rural life.
Records
Most of the ute muster events around AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
try to compete with each other by continually breaking new records of gathering the most number of vehicles in the one place.
However, that mantle has been claimed by Deniliquin which previously held a small ute show as part of its annual Pastoral and Agricultural Show, but developed the idea into a tourist-attracting event. In 1999 a group of community-minded people got to gether with the idea of celebrating all things Australian, including the Aussie icon of the ute, to attract people to the agricultural town of Deniliquin, located in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales. In its first year, the event held a Guinness Book of Records count of the largest parade of legally registered utes in the world, and each year new records are broken. In 1999, 2839 drivers took part, establishing Deniliquin
Deniliquin
Deniliquin, known locally as "Deni", is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales close to the border with Victoria.Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina and Cobb Highway approximately south west of the state capital, Sydney and north of Melbourne...
as the ute capital of the world. Since that time, the event has grown in popularity and each year breaks its existing world record. As of 2010, Deniliquin’s current record stands at 10,152 utes, with over 25,000 attendees in a town that normally has a population of about 8000. The Deniliquin Ute Muster also holds a record count for most number of people wearing blue singlets - in 2010 that Guinness Book of Records count stands at 3500 people.
Distinction from other festivals
Apex Clubs of Australia
The Association of Apex Clubs of Australia is the collective name given to the 330 individual Apex Clubs throughout Australia. An Apex club is a community service club, neither sectarian nor party political, that provides young civic minded people the opportunity to volunteer within the community...
or Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
. They are seen as a good drawcard to bring in money from participants who are not members of the local community - so all money spent is extra money for the local community, whether it goes to the local charity, or just to the local economy.
Musters are often held in conjunction with local agricultural shows. This will assists orgainsers in arranging advertising, insurance and other sponsorship. It can also assist in obtaining the cooperation of local emergency services such as police and ambulance, if the muster is one aspect of a larger, previously established local event.
Most ute musters charge a relatively small fee for participants, allowing them to enter any category they are qualified for. Most participants would enter between five to ten categories, as this keeps the event proceeding. Many participants travel long distances to enter and prefer activities to be held in a short timeframe to allow them to join in other parts of the festival.
Well organised events cater for camping. As this is a usual festival environment drawing participants from large distances in country areas there are limited opportunities for public transport. Both competitors and other participants often make extensive use of any bar facilities; in many events the bar provides a large portion of the funds raised. Well organised events provide for camping as often the most practical accommodation for all concerned.
Whilst larger musters can annoy some locals, this is seen as the exception rather than the rule. Most musters attract between 20-100 utes, depending upon event advertising. Commonly, musters also have maximum numbers permitted to attend - this is often a requirement in obtaining event permits.
Event committees need to liaise carefully with local law enforcement. The muster held at Deniliquin is a good example of close relationships with NSW Police. Whilst the organisers recognise that some attendees can flout the law, this is seen as a minority and the event is able to proceed in a realistic environment. This achieves the event's goals of fundraising and ensures participants are able to enjoy the event.
Annual Ute Musters
There are annual ute musters including:- 'Beaut Ute Competition' part of the Urban Country Music Festival (QLD) - May Long weekend
- 'Deni Ute Muster' (NSW) - September/October (NSW Labour Day Long Weekend)
- Albion Park Ute and Car Show (NSW) - 4th weekend January
- Neerim Ute Show (VIC) - 4th weekend January
- Glenn Innes Ute Show (NSW) - 2nd weekend February
- Henty Ute Show (NSW) - 2nd weekend February
- Berwick Ute Show (VIC) - 4th weekend February
- Moot Yang Gunya Ute Muster (SA) - 1st weekend March
- Wild Oats Ute Muster (WA) - 2nd weekend March
- Wodonga Ute Show (VIC) - 2nd weekend March
- Beaut Utes Show (QLD) - 3rd weekend April
- Hawkesbury Ute Show (NSW) - 4th weekend April
- Mansfield Ute Show (VIC) - 1st weekend May
- Hall Ute Muster (ACT) - 2nd weekend May
- Alexandra Truck, Ute & Rod Show (VIC) - 1st weekend June
- Blue Water Ute Muster (NSW) - 2nd weekend June
- Mudgeeraba Agricultural & Ute Show (QLD) - 3rd weekend June
- Barmedman Beaut Utes Competition (NSW) - 1st weekend September
- Bredbo Ute Muster (NSW) - 2nd weekend September
- Bulli Show Beaut Ute Competition Bulli Showground (NSW)3rd Weekend September
- Coota Beut Ute Competition (NSW) - 2nd weekend October
- Maffra Ute Show (VIC) - 3rd weekend October
- Heyfield Ute Show (VIC) - 4th weekend October
- Ulverstone Ute Competition (TAS) - 4th weekend October
- Canberra Country Ute Van & Truck Muster (ACT) - 3rd weekend November
- Wanneroo Ute Show (WA) - 4th weekend November
External links
- Deniliquin Ute Muster home page
- Deniliquin Ute Muster photographs
- The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival Ute Muster
- Canberra Ute Truck Muster Website
- CountryBNS Website