PHOTO: Quambone Public School Principal Narelle Stacey (right) receiving a cheque from Variety representative Andrew Barnett during their visit to the village on Monday. Image courtesy of Quambone Public School.
QUAMBONE Public School welcomed a convoy of over 100 vehicles this week which brought with them funding for new equipment to help further the school’s healthy eating program.
The school was one of nine locations to be visited across regional NSW between Sunday 15 May and Saturday 21 May as part of the 30th NSW Variety Bash.
The Variety Bash, organised by Variety – the Children’s Charity, travels across rural NSW every year raising money for the charity while also bringing with them thousands of dollars in tourism revenue, gifts for remote schools, plus a bit of fun and excitement to small remote communities.
Regional Motoring Events Manager at Variety, Victor Sheil plans the route every year and said he tries to never cover the same route twice.
“Every year, we try to go to a different town – we change the variety to keep people engaged,” Mr Sheil said.
“In the past, we have been to places like Coonamble, Lightning Ridge, Cobar and Quambone before but never on the same circuit.”
This year, the tour celebrates its 30th anniversary, with celebrations planned at several locations along the way.
Mr Sheil said while there are still some who have been part of the Bash since the beginning, the tour is always welcoming new participants.
“To participate, your car has to be over 30 and not modified – this isn’t a race or rally, it’s just about exploring and socialising with friends you didn’t have when you started,” he said.
“We probably have 60 to 70 new entrants this year but we’ll all be the best of friends by the time they get home.
“It’s especially exciting this year because it will be the first chance for some people to get out and explore in quite a while because of the COVID situation and some of events we run being affected by floods.”
Participants are encouraged to dress up themselves and their cars, with some teams taking inspiration from pop culture characters, like Scooby Doo, the Flintstones, the Avengers and even SpongeBob Squarepants.
“On this trip, seeing the look on the face of a kid in a community like Quambone who might not have seen 300 people come to town at once before is a highlight,” Mr Sheil said.
“Little schools out here can sometimes fall through the cracks, so to be part of something that lets them have a bit of enjoyment is amazing.
“(Also), when you help a school in a small community like this one, you’re helping the whole community, not just the children.”
In Quambone, Variety gifted the public school with funding to purchase a new greenhouse and garden shed designed to work with their pre-established kitchen garden program.
Quambone Public School principal Narelle Stacey said the program aims to teach the students about the benefits of healthy eating and the confidence to grow vegetables themselves.
“It’s really good because it’s making a difference in the children of Quambone’s lives and spreading it further to the whole community,” Ms Stacey said.
Ms Stacey said it was an exciting event for the whole Quambone community, with residents also volunteering their time to put the lunch together.
“The children were so excited – they started off very shy and timid but by the end of the day they were running around with all the different characters,” she said.
“They were given lots of different gift packages from the event’s various sponsors – there was also a magician to keep them entertained and someone to do balloon animals.”
To welcome and thank the 270 people taking part in the Variety Bash, plus officials, on Monday the school put on a special lunch on the school grounds.
The Variety Bash convoy finally left Quambone at around 2.30pm, with Cobar being their next main destination, however Ms Stacey said it had been a pleasure to host a group that was so dedicated to helping children.
“It’s been fantastic for Quambone and the school – there were some people from the community there who hadn’t seen each other in about a year and this event saw them reunite,” she said.
It was also great to show what an amazing community Quambone is – so many of the bashers were saying how fantastic it was before they left.”