Outback 4x4 Challenge - Supporting Broken Hill

Who says that helping out in our community has to be boring.

Here at Australian 4wd Events we don't just donate money to charities, we create structures which benefit communities on an annual basis.

The Outback 4x4 Challenge has since 1999 made a difference to the Broken Hill economy, each year leaving a great impact.

For the 2 weeks our entourage is in town we form a body of more than 500 people who pay for fuel, souvenirs, accommodation, buy food, eat out, drink at the pubs (try to buy a can of bourbon and coke the weekend our event finishes - it's impossible!)

As event organisers we try to purchase as much as possible from the region and utilise the service clubs such as Rotary, Legacy and Lions.

Many competitors come back with their families on a holiday at other times of the year, once again impacting the economy of the region.

There are even some participants who go one further and purchase property!

The Alpine 4x4 Challenge was borne from a desire to assist a community. Just as the outback has been affected by drought, the alps have been affected by bushfires in recent years. The Alpine 4x4 Challenge brings a group of visitors to the region who may not normally holiday there and it occurs at the low end of their tourist season.

We assist the local hospital, Lions club and the local businesses and it feels great.

The best part is it's all great fun. We get to have fun and make a true difference to a community - not boring very rewarding!

Legacy Broken Hill

The proceeds of SS1, SS2 and SS3 gate takings go to Broken Hill Legacy to assist war widows.

Service clubs

The event supports local service groups such as Rotary, Lions Club and of course the SES services in the region.

Since 2002 the Outback Challenge the event has been directly responsible for:

A total of 2465 visitors to Broken Hill

As four wheel drivers these people would traditionally have visited Central Australia or Outback Queensland. This event has introduced them to the Broken Hill Region and many of them return for other holidays

A total of 24,040 overnight stays in the Broken Hill region

During the event, accommodation is sought in town for 60 percent of the stay and on station properties - farmstay for the other 40 percent.

A total spend of $2.76 million to the Broken Hill region

The event itself with the traveling and wear and tear on vehicles, along with the festive atmosphere ensure the spend per head is much greater than the average tourist.

A total value of $375,000 in Australian print press coverage

This is based on the value per page of each publication we have received coverage in since 2002.

A total value of $1.7 million in Overseas print press coverage

This is based on the value per page of each publication we have received coverage in since 2002.

Number of pages in overseas magazines - 222
United Kingdom - 15
USA - 20
New Zealand - 32
South Africa - 20
Czech Republic - 30
Holland - 20
Poland - 30
Spain - 30
Sweden - 25

*note these statistics are based on figures collected by us from our event database, information from surveys collected by participants and magazine full colour page rates.