It’s the muster that put the town on the map. Thirteen years ago, when 2,839 utes created an official Guinness World Record at a community sporting reserve in a quiet, agricultural town in New South Wales’ Riverina, local mayor Brian Mitsch says any mention of ‘Deniliquin’ to those outside the district was usually answered with a puzzled expression or a vacant nod.
“The first question would be, ‘where is that?’ Mr Mitsch says. “Now when you talk to people, wherever they are from across the country, you mention Deniliquin and they immediately talk about the Ute Muster. It has gone from a ‘where is that?’ to an ‘oh yes, I know all about it.’”
This year more than 18,000 drenched punters and 6,998 muddied and bogged utes made what is now an annual pilgrimage for ute lovers the nation over to revel in all things high octane and low inhibitions – the 2011 Deni Ute Muster and Play on the Plains Festival.
The 120 acre festival site is a feast for even the most famished working man’s appetite. And if you didn’t arrive a country lover (and that’s a lover of all things country, rather than lovers who are from the country, though it’s good to keep your options open)… then everything you could possibly need to look and feel the part can be found on site.
Trade stalls line the huge muddy paddock on the outskirts of Deni, offering outfitting options from the Akubra hat to RM boots, and plaid shirts and driza-bones for in between; car accessories from lighting and radio mods to custom stickers, flags and signs; and camping gear from swags to eskies.
It’s said more than $13 million is injected into the community over the weekend, but it’s not just the utes that have cashed up punters camping at the festival gates for weeks in advance. The Ute Muster has evolved into a family affair, with the NSW whip cracking championships, wood chop demonstrations, one of the richest professional bull riding spectaculars in Australia, children’s activities including a carnival and circus shows, as well as the obligatory National Circle Work Championships, Ute Show ‘N Shine Competition, and ute driving competitions.
The event now features world record counts for both the most number of legally paraded utes (with 10,152 counted last year) and the most number of people wearing blue shearer’s singlets (the 2010 record still stands at 3,500) and two live evening concerts featuring some of the world’s best country, rock and contemporary artists.
American rocker Suzi Quatro thrilled crowds on the soggy Friday night this year, but wasn’t outdone by the likes of Adam Harvey and Beccy Cole, Troy Cassar-Daley, Guy Sebastian and Icehouse across the weekend. Aussie country singer Tori Darke opened the show for the second year in a row and says she’d love to come back again next year, whether it’s as a performer or a punter.
“It’s the vibe of Deniliquin, it’s such a great energy, there’s lots of different people there. You’ve got your real country people and your city people, all different kinds of utes and really nice cars… so a really big mixture of people from all different areas of Australia,” Tori says.
“I think playing at festivals like the Deni Ute Muster and Gympie Muster are great because it’s such a cool atmosphere and everyone’s there for a really good time.
“It’s a totally different atmosphere to performing in a club of any kind, so it’s just got this really great vibe where everyone’s there to have fun and hear really good music. There were a lot of people in the crowd that already knew some of my music and were singing along which is always really good to see and to hear.”
East of the main stage, the morning action takes place in the sports arena, where the revs are deafening during the National Circle Work Championships. The high pitched roar of one particular Holden VS stood out from the drone of hundreds, and owner Tom Gadsby admits it’s the noise of a V8 that gets him excited.
The 26-year-old wheat and sheep farmer from Gulargambone, NSW, bought his ute off a mate six years ago and has been slowly building it since. “I built the skirts, a mate and I built the bar in his shed about two years ago now, a mate and I built the lid, and everything else I’ve done, bought seats and just a few little mods,” he says.
“This is my third ute. I just like V8s and noise. It was just a thing when I was growing up I sort of always liked cars and V8s have just got that note that sort of makes you smile, I reckon.”
For those with finer taste, the U-Bute Ute Exhibition Centre showcases a range of rare and restored utes from years gone by. Mary Jones, from Alexandra, Victoria, is the owner of last year’s feature ute – the only 1937 Austin A35 pick up in Australia – and has come back for her second muster experience. “It’s a fantastic weekend, all the entertainment and the cars and utes, it’s just really good. Plus they rang up and asked if we’d bring [our ute] back,” Mary says.
“We imported it from Jersey Island in 2004. There were 475 made and none of them came to Australia, so we chased one for years and years and finally got one on Jersey Island. They’re so rare, they’re just gorgeous. It has a little dickie seat in the back, so you put the floor up and it folds back so you can actually sit in the back,” she says.
“We just appreciate cars that have been done up, and all the different people that you meet are really lovely – we have common interests so it’s a great weekend.”
Some of the best utes Australian drivers have to show off are decked out for all to see in the Show ‘n Shine Area, where the titles of Ute of the Year, Ultimate B&S Style Ute, Ultimate Town Ute and Best Themed Ute (to name a few) are up for grabs. An estimated $203 million worth of utes gathers at the muster, and the most extreme and inspired of them is on display here.
Nikee Schultz, from South Australia’s Barossa Valley, has been coming to the muster every second year since 2007, entering her Playboy themed 2002 VUSS in the Ultimate Chick’s Ute category.
“We’ve brought this one every year that we’ve come. I’ve had it for four years, I bought it standard and I’ve spent four years making it different,” she says. “It’s the utes – that’s it, that’s what I love about Deni. I’ve always been into V8s and always been into Holden and I just figured the ute was a the best way to go…
“It’s a mobile bed; you can sleep in the back. It goes fast; it’s had motor work done and it goes really fast. I’ve gone the playboy theme because I can’t stand flowers and butterflies and all that girly stuff.
“I get heaps of looks driving it around town, it’s one of those utes where you either love it or you hate it… A ute is a whole completely different lifestyle, it’s awesome.”
And that feeling is echoed not just in Deni, but it seems across the world, because at that same moment, thousands of kilometres away, the Aussie ute culture was continued on the ice caps of the great southern continent. The Australian Antarctic crew hosted its own mini ute muster, on snow rather than mud, that weekend, with its three vehicles which could reasonably be called utes.
Chris Wilkinson, a mechanic at Mawson Station told the ABC two over-snow mobiles with trays on the back were included in their ute category, in addition to a light truck. “We're going to have a prize for the best Antarctic ute, tradie's ute, feral ute and chick's ute,” he says.
There’s a strength to the Deni Ute Muster which keeps it going from year to year, cemented as one of Australia’s most iconic festivals. Mayor Mitsch says that strength could be found somewhere in the simplicity of the muster’s origins: “just a group of people sitting around having a beer, looking for an event idea to bring more people to town.”
“The utes have always been a part of it, but now it just seems that it’s the music, the atmosphere, and all the other events that go on that are the main attraction. I mean, Suzi Quatro being a headline act this year, I never thought I’d see somebody of her calibre here in town,” Mr Mitsch says.
While Deniliquin can hold its own for the other 363 days of the year as a picturesque service hub for locals and tourists, there’s no doubt the Ute Muster has penned the town in the minds of many.
“It’s always going to be a unique event for a week or so in the first week of October. But it certainly has got an ongoing benefit in that people come to know where we are, they enjoy a visit here, they keep coming back, and they tell their friends, which is more important. It brings a lot of people and all that come here fully enjoy themselves… and love the town.”
Related Links:
All the action of the 2011 Deni Ute Muster is online in our gallery - HERE
*Image of the first Antarctic Ute Muster - Photograph © Chris Wilson, courtesy Australian Antarctic Division.
