Matty Hillcoat’s Truckies’ Day Out

Truckies unite in memory of Matty Hillcoat

Tragedy inspired Gympie couple Dan and Kristine Hillcoat to add another truck event to the Australian calendar, Matty Hillcoat’s Truckies Day Out. The event raises funds for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) research.

Dan and Kristine’s second son, Matty, was born on June 16, 2011, and from this time he was a happy little guy adored by everyone who met him. Tragically, on October 8, 2011, Matty passed away in his sleep without warning.

In the search for answers during a time of grief and despair, the Hillcoat’s reached out to River’s Gift, a Geelong based charity at the fore of funding world leading SIDS research, and providing safe sleep education. “We’ve joined the River’s Gift ‘Unite’ family and are raising funds which will go towards a genetics SIDS research project partnership, between The University of South Australia, Adelaide University and River’s Gift,”, says Kristine.

River’s Gift is the leading source of funding in Australia for SIDS research and Australia’s solely SIDS focused charity, with a mission of Stamping Out SIDS. “River’s Gift’s primary objective is to fund world-leading SIDS research to make a tangible contribution to the discovery of a cure for this heart-breaking loss of life,” says River’s Gift Operations Manager, Karl Waddell.

SIDS is the sudden unexpected death of an infant under one year of age that cannot be explained after a thorough investigation, including an autopsy. It is one of the leading causes of death in infants between one month and one year in Australia and the developed world.

“This will be a fantastic day for the whole family, this is the 5th time we’ll host the event,” says Kristine. “There will be plenty of variety and we’re excited this event will attract visitors from the surrounding region and parts of Queensland, and give local residents an enjoyable day out. The Truckies’ Day Out theme was an easy one for us, with the trucking industry running deep in our family. Our sons are fourth generation ‘mad-keen’ truck enthusiasts.”

The event boasts a range of truck , car and bike competitions, tractor pull, chainsaw racing, lawnmower racing, vintage machinery display, food stalls, kids entertainment, charity auction and live music entertainment in the Big Top Tent. There’s great prizes up for grabs for Rig of the Show and Ute of the Show, and more than 20 categories for trucks to enter to win.

Matty Hillcoat’s Truckie’s Day Out will be held at the Gympie Showgrounds Saturday, October 12, gates open at 10am, with ticket prices at $20 for adults, $15 for concession holders, and children under 5 are free. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

Read an inspiring article from the 2022 Matty Hillcoat’s Truckie’s Day Out here

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/mattyhillcoatstruckiesdayout/

Email – khillcoat@rivergift.org