Boomi Mud Trials
In the first weekend of October I went down to Goondiwindi to meet up with a family I met when I was there in July. I’d been staying out at a cattle station about 60kms outside of Gundy working on a separate project and only went into town a handful of times. On one of these trips I saw a group of guys standing around a fairly beaten up old car on the side of the main road leading into the centre of town. The car had no windows, little in the way of an interior and a rough paint job, though the words ‘Hade’s Crew’ were clearly visible in red letters across the door panels. I saw them as I was driving past and foolishly didn’t stop at the time – not doing so really ate away at me for the next few days as it always does when I see something interesting and let it go by without stopping to take a photo. (there’s a wonderful blog about this)
After I’d finished up at the cattle station I found myself back in town, staying at the pub for a few nights to attend the Photographic Society of Queensland’s annual convention. On the last day of the convention I went out during the lunch break to see if I could find the car and it’s owners again. As luck would have it the car was still there, though it had been moved from the side of the road into the driveway. There were half a dozen people standing in the driveway, a couple of the younger guys were working on the car, climbing in and out of the car through the empty space where the windscreen would once have been.
It took me a couple of walk-bys before I actually stopped to talk to the people gathered but I was instantly glad that I had, they have since proven to be some of the kindest, most warm-hearted people I’ve ever met. I briefly explained that I was attending the photography event up the road and asked if they would mind if I took some photos of the car, no problems there. I asked a few questions about the car and what it was for, which they were more than happy to explain to me.
They called it a ‘mud bomb’, and the name pretty much says it all. Long time fans of the sport of Mud Trials, they were getting it ready for the an event in October which was taking place in Boomi, a small town of about 45 people, an hour south-west over the border into NSW. They had been going to the event for years but this was their first time competing so they were understandably excited. It wasn’t long before they invited me into their home to see a video they shot of last year’s event, and soon they asked if I’d like to come back down and come to the event with them. I accepted instantly.
These photos are from a few rolls which I only recently got back. I’m working on what I hope will become a more cohesive project from the other photos I took over the weekend but hopefully this gives a little taste of what the Boomi Mud Trials were about.
