Story by Freda Nicholls

Another year, another couple of records – Deniliquin has done it again. Organisers of the 2006 Deniliquin Ute Muster were delighted that the number of utes exceeded last year’s record, even if it was by the narrowest of margins. The official ute count was 6211, 39 more than last year, but it wasn’t the only record to fall.
The Bonds ‘Blueys’ world record for the number of blue singlets situated in one area was also once again broken, beating the 2005 number by nearly 100 Bluey-clad individuals who packed into an arena for the count. In the hot afternoon, the committee passed around plenty of free bottles of water to those 1566 waiting in the ring for the official count, with many others situated outside the arena. The merchandise store had huge queues over the entire weekend as people waited patiently to buy a Bluey for themselves or family and friends (with the double-zero baby size proving hugely popular for gifts).

This story excerpt is from Issue #50

Outback Magazine: Dec/Jan 2007