Join in ... with Murray Bridge and Districts 4WD Club

Locals support locals – that’s why this post promoting a local community group is free to read. Your support helps Murray Bridge News tell important local stories. Subscribe today.

A visit to Rob “Robbo” Stevens soon makes it clear that cars are his world.

He works as a mechanic, and he’s rightly proud of the many modifications he’s made to his own four-wheel drive.

He even has a sporty Lexus for when he wants to put the pedal to the metal at the Bend Motorsport Park.

But the 4WD club for which he’s the recruitment officer, trip coordinator and vice president for isn’t about speed.

For Robbo, the club’s more about appreciating the environment and following the routes of Australian explorers such as Cecil Madigan and Len Beadell.

To express an interest in sponsoring this monthly feature, email jane@murraybridge.news.

When did you first get involved with the Murray Bridge and Districts 4WD Club?

I went to the very first meeting in February, 1991. I went on the committee immediately because I’m a doer; I’m not a follower. I like to get out there and make it happen.

What do you do when your club goes out on 4WD trips?

We like to stay out and go bush camping and be self-sustained and all the rewards that come with that. We have an ethos about looking after the environment. There are lots of cowboys out there – the white-knuckle brigade – who don’t care if they wreck the vehicle or the track. But we actively try and clean up the environment and work with landowners. It’s like the Tread Lightly campaign – we take only photos and leave only footprints.

What do you get out of your involvement?

The camaraderie.

Also, when you go long range, you have to preserve your resources, so what we do is in the pioneering spirit. It’s a dynamic thing, where you learn about explorers. Cecil Thomas Madigan was a modern-day South Australian explorer who went to the Antarctic with Scott, but after going across the northern Simpson Desert by plane, he did a trip in 1939 with camels, and I’ve done the Madigan Line track. There are sandhills, camels, spinifex and lizards. I’ve done most of the tracks across the Simpson Desert.

Locals support locals. Your support helps Murray Bridge News tell important local stories.

What has been your fondest memory with the club?

I really don’t think I have one. Anytime I’m around the campfire, after a hard day’s bush driving, it’s all good in different ways. For example, the desert oaks make a special noise – like rushing water – the wind whistles through the little pine needles. I’ve been up to the Kimberleys, the Karri Forest near Pemberton on the Warren River National Park, and I’ve been to the Victorian High Country. With some of the tracks, you definitely need brave pills – in one track, we were climbing in low first gear for an hour and a half. I also did the Billy Goat Ridge (in the Flinders Ranges): from the bottom of the track to the top, it raises 1200 metres in seven kilometres.

What’s your goal with the club?

To be taken out in a pine box. I love the club, and I’m the only original one of the crew that’s left. There’s more people that have died than we have members … or they’ve gone over to the dark side – a Pajero and a caravan.

Why should people join the Murray Bridge and Districts 4WD Club?

We all look after each other. If someone breaks down, we all help each other – no-one gets left behind.

We’re always looking for new blood and younger blood – we have some members in their 30s or 40s, but mostly we’re in our 50s, 60s and 70s.

• Contact: Rob Stevens on 0407 979 790 or email murraybridge4wdclub@gmail.com
• Who can join: Anyone with a 4WD
• Where to go: the Bridge Evangelical Church hall, 10 Thomas Street
• When to go: 7.30pm on the first Wednesday of every second month; upcoming meetings are on August 2, October 4 and December 6
• What you need: All you need is to bring yourself

To express an interest in promoting your community or sporting club with a Join In feature, email michael@murraybridge.news. To express an interest in sponsoring this monthly feature, email jane@murraybridge.news.

Locals support locals. Your support helps Murray Bridge News tell important local stories.