The scenic Yarra Valley has been the route for many a road trip but a particularly special one passed through on Friday 10 October.
Daniher’s Drive, founded by AFL legend and motor neurone disease (MND) advocate Neale Daniher AO, visited the region this year, raising money and awareness for the incurable disease along the way.
Neale’s daughter Bec Daniher said her dad started a legacy, and though it’s getting harder and harder for him to lead from the front, they can just see that the community that backs what he’s trying to achieve is growing.
“We’ve come so far, but we know that we’ve got a way to go so when we see new people joining the cause, it just gives us hope that we can continue to find the brightest researchers and clinicians here in Australia, around the world, because we have to find a treatment and a cure,” she said.
“It’s been really beautiful the areas that we’ve gone through, it’s such a stunning drive, but it’s the communities, we had our first stop at Assumption College, and they just went all out, the school got right behind, it was Dad’s old school so they made such a special effort,”
“Then going to Warburton, we went to Milwarra Primary School where all 50 students came out and they presented a cheque, and for us, it’s those moments where we can connect with the community that makes this drive so special.”
The 2025 Daniher’s Drive will take four days, having departed from Heidelberg Golf Club on Thursday 9 October and wrapping up at RACV Torquay Resort on Sunday 12 October.
Bec said when they started the drive, they weren’t really sure what they were doing, but knew that they wanted to make a change and needed people to come along for that journey.
“So to be standing here nine years on, and with the amount of funds that they’ve raised, we’ve been able to do so much with those critical funds we needed to keep the researchers going and we’ve been able to do that,” she said.
“We’ve visited over 50 community towns and seen and met so many people, and we’ve met so many people impacted by MND so it keeps motivating us that we know that there are so many people affected currently and that’s why we need to keep going,”
“Dad’s always said that you can’t spell fundraising without fun and so whilst we’re fighting against something that is really tough and it really is a grim disease, we are going to laugh, we’re going to smile, we’re going to have so much fun as we fight back.”
The drive also stopped by Four Pillars Gin Distillery, Warburton Bowls Club and Helen’s Hill Estate on the way through the Yarra Valley. The next stops include visits to San Remo and Phillip Island, over to Sorrento before catching the ferry to Queenscliff and finishing off with a competitive dress up night in Torquay.
Bec said the drive is a moment in time where they unify, come together as one community and have so much fun whilst they’re making a massive impact.
“The 10 new teams, most of them have MND connections, and for some of them, it has taken a little while to feel comfortable to be telling their story, but all but now they’re in a position where they feel like they can be a part of the fight as well,” she said.
“They feel the legacy of their family members who have been impacted by MND, they feel like they’re in a position now that they’ve seen what their family members have gone through in their process and are ready to fight back in a different way,”
“They want to ensure that what their parents or siblings or friends have gone through isn’t for nothing, and they’re living in their memory, trying to make a difference.”
To find out more about MND or donate to the cause, visit fightmnd.org.au/.
