This year’s Alexandra Truck, Ute and Road Show on Sunday, June 9 is expected to be the biggest one to-date, with the town closing off more street space for displays.
Photo by
Sophie Malcolm
The Alexandra Truck, Ute and Rod Show is a day full of good cheer and shiny vehicles, and although the success comes down to a well-oiled group running the event, if there was one stalwart still on the committee since the show’s inception in 1997, then Andrew Embling is it.
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“Actually, there’s two of us,” Andrew said.
Gordon Simpson of Simpson’s Fuel is the other one.
Andrew runs Embling Rural in Alexandra and although well-known for his charisma with locals and visitors alike, he plays it all down, despite the rise and rise of the event over more than a quarter century.
“Last year was the biggest show ever and we are ready for it again this year; we will have a record number of trucks this year,” Andrew said.
“All the hotels will be booked; half of Marysville gets booked and we even have people who come and stay at Euroa.
“And as always, all shops will be open — the whole town will be open.”
The growth in the truck display is best measured in the length of Alexandra’s main road and this year more of it will be closed off to accommodate all the trucks, utes and hot rods entered.
“We have gone back another block south so it’s a longer close-off,” Andrew said.
“We always ask ourselves: will we ever make the tip which is over the hill?”
Extra side street closures will also be extended to accommodate more trucks.
Music will be provided by Brooke Taylor and the Poison Spitting Gin Queens, which is no more a mouthful than their repertoire of rock, blues, country, soul and pop music.
“They are a great band, and as well Paul Costa is returning after five years since he was last here, coming from Irymple near Mildura,” Andrew said.
Brooke Taylor will perform with her Poison Spitting Gin Queens from their eclectic repertoire. "The best way to convey so many human emotions is with different genres,"' she said.
The annual fundraising auction will begin at 2pm on the main stage with all items on display from the ‘get go’.
Featured in the auction will be two locally made metal artwork sculptures of a deer and a tractor.
The numbers of truck entries are still growing with Andrew saying there is a ‘good chance’ of a display of cranes as well.
“The hot rods are coming from Victoria and of course the trucks come from as far as NSW and we even have at least one driving over from Western Australia,” he said.
And the kudos does not stop with just the one-day event or its organisers.
“We have been invited — as we’re one of the premier truck shows — to send our best trucks up to Brisbane in 2025.
“Last time we did that, we were known as the slow-moving train, matching shirts and all.”
The mega raffle will include locally made tractor and deer sculptures which double as braziers.
The serious side to the show remains at the forefront of organisers, as it answers the call for action on serious mental health concerns within the community and raises money for mental health services.
The foundation which was established in 2023 is yet to be named (“We want to get it right,” Andrew explains), and is expected to get a healthy financial boost from this year’s show.
“We are going to have Warren Davies again of course; he’s the ‘unbreakable farmer’.
“And some of the trade sites will be relating back to mental health.”
A mega-raffle will be drawn with a double first prize of a $1000 voucher each from the local Foodworks and Ampol fuel, a further $1000 voucher for local businesses and a $500 voucher for Thornton Butcher and Deli.
Andrew and the committee deflect any praise for this stellar annual event which has such community support and is managed by its committee right down to the rubber hitting the road.
“You do what you do,” he said.
“You do it for the town because you like it — you love to see people here and it just brings so much business and fundraising to this town.”
The Alexandra Truck, Ute and Rod Show will be held on Sunday, June 9 from 10am to 4pm. For more information, go to: www.alexandratruckshow.com.au/
The Alexandra Truck, Ute and Rod Show will feature more than 30 trade stalls.
The nuts and bolts (and duco) of the day
The return of feature events and participants include:
The auction at 2pm on the main stage featuring a Harley Fridge donated by Larsen’s Truck Sales in Melbourne, as well as chopping blocks, metal artwork, boots, craft and other high-quality fare 20 litre of oils and truck washes.
Woodchopping in Rotary Park with two Victorian championships to be contested and axemen coming from as far away as Tasmania and South Australia.
CFA 150-year celebration, with displays of historical fire trucks, including an antique Willys Fire Truck.
A large array of all local businesses catering on the top of the hill beside Rotary Park along with sporting clubs, St John’s, the local kindergarten and community groups.
