2 minute read
Women hit the road to kick cancer to the kerb
Fiona is a psychologist who had melanoma in 2021; co-driver Sara is the practice manager for her obstetrician/gynaecologist husband Dr Andrew Griffiths and has had breast cancer twice. “Both Sara and I are always on the lookout for an adventure,” Fiona said. “Originally from the UK, Sara has not seen the interior of Australia. I have a history of racing 4WDs in my youth, which I loved but am no longer brave enough to do. When we came across the Shitbox Rally, it ticked all of our boxes: adventure, travelling through Outback Australia, fun, and raising money for a bloody good cause – The Cancer Council.”
And so Team Old Mole was born. “To date we have raised $14,000 through fundraising events and the generosity of local businesses, but we are not content with this – we want to reach $30,000.”
The Shitbox Rally is the largest community-led fundraiser for The Cancer Council, raising almost $36 million since its inception 13 years ago. Three rallies are held each year and attract about 250 cars. “It’s a rally, not a race,” Fiona said, “but it’s a rally with a difference: you must participate in a car worth less than $1500 and drive it 3500km over a week.
“Only four short months ago, Dad called me to say, ‘I think I’ve found you a car’. ‘Bloody fantastic,’ we thought. ‘Send us a video.’ What we saw was an unregistered 1990 Nissan Pulsar with 207,000km on the clock, semi-flat tyres, covered in mud and lichen, filled with redbacks, and it had no battery. It had been sitting in a paddock for a few years, retired from its former life as a paddock bomb. It was perfect. And it was free.”
Fiona and Sara will be driving their Shitbox from Newcastle to Townsville via Betoota from May 12-20. If you’d like to sponsor their fundraising effort, head to their donation link at autumn2023.shitboxrally.com. au/team-old-mole
