A group of men from the bush, some of whom have Parkinson’s disease, are raising money and awareness for the condition.
Story Sue Wallace
It started out as just a bunch of rural mates heading off on an outback adventure, and it’s now an annual fundraiser that’s notched up $176,000 for Parkinson’s disease research.
Retired farmer and stock agent Andrew Urquhart, of Jingellic, NSW, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015, while Noel Passalaqua, a retired grazier from Holbrook, NSW, who also had a farm tree nursery, learnt he had the disease a decade ago, but it hasn’t stopped them getting on with their lives.
Along with mates Phil Davies, Tom Ellis, Tom Manifold, David Cato, Harry Chisholm and Jim Salter, they have just returned from their fourth three-week outback adventure. This time they travelled from Albury to the Simpson Desert, covering 6500km on motorbikes and in 4WDs, raising more than $52,000 for Shake it Up Australia, which funds Parkinson’s disease research in multiple Australian institutes.
This story excerpt is from Issue #138
Outback Magazine: August/September 2021
