Twisted Sisters make a stopover

By Kath Gannaway
THE very notion of setting out to drive a more than 30-year-old car thousands of kilometres from one part of Australia to another, seems a little foolhardy to say the least.
But it’s done every year as part of the Variety Club Bash by and, if the Timber Communities Australia crew, Pauline Briggs and Helen Hoppner are any indication, it’s not only great fun, it’s tremendously rewarding.
The ‘Twisted Sisters’, driving a 1967 Ford Galaxy were among a fleet of 137 vehicles which came through Healesville on July 8, the first day of this year’s 12-day Bash from Melbourne to Cairns.
The Bash raises funds for the children with special needs through a range of Variety Club projects.
The ‘girls’ – Helen veteran of 13 Bashes, and Pauline a relative newcomer with four Bashes to her credit, are sponsored by Timber Communities Australia (TCA) and Timbertrek.
They made a special stop at the Timber Communities Australia Victorian office – and received a special “Aussie” welcome from TCA State manager, Kersten Gentle, and TCA members Scott Gentle and Kay Price.
The girls had no worries that their ‘Green Machine’, also with 13 Bashes to its credit, would make the grade again in 2006.
“A lot of timber people put a lot of work into the car over time, so mechanically it is very sound,” Helen said.
Just the same, she has a tried and true ‘plan B’ for on-road repairs.
“If something does go wrong and we can’t fix it, we will just sit on the side of the road and cry poor so we don’t get our fingernails or frocks dirty,” she said.
Sounds like good girl stuff but those outfits! Could be a bit counter productive?
“I think we’ll be fine,” Helen was confident. “The camaraderie is absolutely amazing. Someone will always get you going,” she said.
Both Helen and Pauline, who won the Spirit of the Bash Award last year and a silver award for raising over $10,000, agree that it is raising funds for such a good cause which draws them back each year.
“We see it in our own area of Traralgon at the special school there, and just seeing the joy on the kids faces, especially in the outback schools and towns, is the greatest reward,” Pauline said.
“The Bash raised $1.3million last year and we are aiming for $1.5 this year and that sort of money does a lot of good,” Helen added.
Helen said credit had to go to TCA and people in the industry who have supported the team since it started and put a lot of money and effort into the project.