Back Roads on ABC and ABC iview S11E10 – Presenter Joe O’Brien heads to the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland for the Great Wheelbarrow Race.
This 140km race follows the Wheelbarrow Way from Mareeba to Chillagoe. The event is inspired by the miners who came to this region in the late eighteen hundreds. When one area was mined out, they moved to the next, pushing their worldly possessions along in the humble wheelbarrow.
Joe meets the “Dads’ Army” team, who are competing in the over 55’s category. The team’s average age is 74, and their oldest member is Frank “The Fossil”, a sprightly 86. They’re competing to stay fit, support each other and raise money for the Mareeba Hospital. This race is gruelling but they have all the beer and water pistols they need to have a lot of fun and get to the finish line.
Three young men, Kobi, Flynn and Dan, are running as the “Missy’s Donors” team.This trio are racing to raise awareness of the importance of donating blood and to honour the memory of their beloved friend, Missy Clarkson. Missy’s Mum, Anj Mittlestadt, is their team manager and biggest fan. The boys want to win their category and break the record, running in their barely there uniform of tiny red budgie smugglers.
Lindie Boonzaaier organises the Great Wheelbarrow Race. She and her husband Janus migrated to Australia from South Africa in 2018,and now own a farm in Dimbulah. Lindie invites Joe to run with her team, “The Council Cruisers”, giving Joe a taste of the questionable tactics employed by some teams in the race, all in the name of fun.
Production credit:
Executive Producer: Brigid Donovan. Series Producer: Louise Turley.
Back Roads on ABC and ABC iview – Thursday 13 March at 8.00pm
TV Central ABC content HERE
Back Roads on ABC and ABC iview S11E10
