australian campertrailers national meet at Batlow 2013

past events

Batlow national meet 2013

Australian CamperTrailers
national meet at Batlow 2013

friday

caravan walkabout

The Australian CamperTrailers Group is now twelve years old & with that members who once owned a camper trailer have stepped up to a caravan. Kevin Phillips hosted a caravan walkabout. Members gave a brief talk on what they liked about their caravan, points they didn't like & modifications they have done or they would like to do to make camping all that more enjoyable.

actmg

Roger Fagan president of the Australian Camper Trailer Manufacturers Guild gave a talk on what the guild was about & also their aims. The AMCTG was established in 2011 as a result of poor quality components & workmanship in many cheap imported camper trailers. The guild is not against imports or trying in anyway to block them, however what they are trying to do is give potential camper trailer buyers some reassurance in buying a quality product from a genuine Australian manufacturer. Members of the AMCTG require an engineering compliance by a certified Australian Engineering Company to qualify.

He pointed out that some camper trailers are advertised as Australian made, when in fact they are shipped here as a flat pack & bolted together. Family holidays have been shattered when the outback corrugations have found a weakness in the cheap components used resulting in breakdowns.

damper on a stick

Narelle Bretherton provided the mixture for people to experiance damper on a stick. A damper mixture was rolled onto an aluminium 'stick' & cooked over the campfire. After the stick was removed honey or golden syrup was poured down the middle.

closing ceremony

Friday afternoon saw the closing ceremony. Kevin thanked everyone for their attendance & for the fantastic time we had over the week, the friendships formed & the positive feeling of the event. He went on to thank the Tumit Shire Council & the Batlow Rotary whose work behind the scenes provided the platform of another successful national meet.

Next was the raffle ticket draw. A big thanks once again to Alan & Amanda Haworth for donating the four engraved locks & plastic coated lanyards as prizes. Money raised for the Batlow Rotary through the raffle amounted to $412. The tickets were drawn by Carol Sanderson. The winners were Bob Lynch, David Griffin, Graham Marr & Dave Thorndike.

Rob then thanked those who had presented workshops or activities during the week & personally gave them a certificate of appreciation.

Mayor of the Tumut Shure Council, Trina Thomson was on hand to thank the Australian CamperTrailers Group for choosing Batlow & hoped we all had a great time, not only within the showground, but also exploring the surrounding area.

Batlow Rotary Club president Alby Haynes expressed his pleasure in dealing with such a great group of people. On behalf of the Australian CamperTrailers Group Carol handed Alby the proceeds of several fund raising activities held during the week totaling $3,911.

To encourage local shopping in Batlow members were given shopper dockets in the showbags. The dockets were signed by the shop owner & handed to Jason & Sue to be drawn from the hat by rotary treasurer Iola Robson. Winners were Terry & Sandy Agland with a fire blanket & extinguisher donated by Jason & Sue Cox.

Batlow Boofheads is awarded to the funniest or most embarrassing moment over the week. This years award goes to Margaret Pierce who unknowingly introduced herself as Barbara. She didn't realise she had until Barbara said that is my name too. Please view the winning entry here.

Spirit of the Group is awarded to a person who is brought to the attention of the CamperTrailers Group co-owners for a good hearted deed or generosity in helping others during the week long meet. This year the award was presented to Carol Sanderson for her pleasant nature & eagerness to help everyone. Rob presenting her with the perpetual trophy. Please view the winning entry here.

The ashes of the Batlow national meet fires were then added to those of Big Bertha in the urn by Mal Currey.

Kevin then announced we had been in consultation with the town of Glen Innes in the NSW Northern Highlands as the venue of the Australian CamperTrailers Groups' 10th national meet to be held over the week from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th September 2014.

With that Kevin declared the 9th national meet closed & hoped to see everyone again next year at the 10th national meet.