Ute Tube

When Bush Comes To Shove

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

You call 'em pickups, we call 'em utes. In that wonderful Aussie way, we shorten our favourite words, so a "utility vehicle" is a ute. This afternoon, in the heart of Melbourne's CBD, the bush came to town in more ways than one. Ya gotta understand, mate, the ute is an absolute Australian icon.

And when the utes from the bush town of "Deni" (Deniliquin) come down in full-throated convoy to the city, we all stand and applaud. It was the big rev-up to the 2007 Deniliquin World record Ute Muster to be held from 28-29 September. I thought I'd wander down with my camera and spend ten minutes there at lunchtime. Yeah, right. I was there for an hour. Time flies when you're having fun.

The stunning mural on this ute caught my eye because it evoked such a typical Outback scene - a single drover returning home at sundown. It's only just struck me that the mural would have been hand-painted and I should have asked more questions about the artist and whether it depicts a real scene. Up the top of the shot you'll see the "tarp" (tarpaulin) that is always stretched taut to protect the load.

And here is another set of Aussie icons. This is an Akubra hat (above), a true-blue Australian product that is wide-brimmed as protection against the hot sun. Speaking of sun, this was a difficult shot because of the bright early-afternoon sun almost directly overhead. And because I never "set up" a shot, I had to work my way round to get the best angle and combat the shadow. The large tags on the left are cattle tags, while the smaller ones on the right are sheep tags.

Watch this space for more great photographs ....