AUSTRALIA'S major caravan club has poured tens of thousands of dollars
into a small Queensland town's economy.
Nearly 200 members in 96 RVs descended on Kingaroy's showgrounds for the
Australian Caravan Club's Chairman's Muster.
And during the five-day event they spent freely on accommodation, fuel,
groceries, dining out, sightseeing and alcohol.
"Our members completed expense sheets so we could keep a tally of the
amount of money spent," club chairman Craig Humphrey explained.
"It averaged out that each RV unit spent somewhere between $500 to $550 in
the region, with a total spend overall of around $51,000.
"This shows that towns and localities that can attract RVers can really
benefit economically from the RV community."
LifeFlight will also benefit from the gathering, with the proceeds of a
raffle for a week's cabin accommodation at Lake Boondooma or Yallakool
Caravan parks to be donated to the rescue service.
The prize was donated by the South Burnett Regional Council and won by ACC
member Jo Meier.
"$550 was collected from the raffle and I will be personally visiting
Kingaroy to hand over a donation cheque to LifeFlight for this amount," Mr
Humphrey said.
"Special thanks must go to the regional council for giving this great
prize."
Mr Humphrey extended special thanks to the Kingaroy Showground Society,
South Burnett Regional Council, local businesses and service clubs and to
the South Burnett community at large for being "fantastic hosts" during
the club's stay in the region.
"We all felt so welcome," he said.
During the muster, ACC members visited the Endeavour Foundation Biscuit
Factory, enjoyed a night visit to the Kingaroy Observatory, took morning
tea at Mulanah Gardens, attended the South Burnett Wine and Food in the
Park festival, visited other tourist attractions and dined out in the
Kingaroy area.
The next Chairman's Muster is scheduled to be held at Peak Hill, New South
Wales, from May 18 to 23 this year.
The 4500-member club will also stage its 2017 National Muster ‒ which is
expected to attract around 400 members in 200 RV units ‒ at Bingara, New
South Wales, in October.
