A Sunshine Coast couple are so smitten with the Moto Guzzi Club of Queensland Ruptured Budgie Rally, they are planning to marry there next month. Even though they don’t own a Guzzi!
The marriage of Sue Stanley and Don Cameron (pictured above) from the Sunshine Coast will be a highlight of the 24th annual rally from May 19-21 at Mingoola, 56km west of Tenterfield on the Bruxner Highway.
“The Ruptured Budgie Rally was Sue’s very first rally and our first rally together and we fell in love with the venue and the people,” says Don.
“The people are just so accepting, even though we don’t ride a Guzzi.
“We ride a VTX1800 Honda with a camper trailer, but we’ve been sort of been adopted by the Guzzi club.
Don and Sue’s rig“They don’t care what you ride, just so long as you do ride.”
Old-school rally
The Ruptured Budgie Rally, considered one of the last of the old-school motorcycle rallies, attracts riders of all types of motorcycles from around Australia.
Don and Sue will be married by Bruce Jones, a member of the MGCOQ, while club vice-president John Hoogstraten will be best man.
“The Guzzi club has more special plans for the weddding than we have,” says Don. “We just wanted someone to say our vows at the venue, but they have organised flowers, a pergola in case it rains, special rally badges with wedding rings and the property owner’s daughters will be Sue’s flower girls.”
MGCOQ spokesman Ian Taylor says they expect up to 400 people to attend the rally.
The rally features camping by the river with firewood supplied, fully catered food and bar from Friday dinner to Sunday breakfast, and usual and “unusual” rally awards.
Cost of entry is $25 each which includes the rally badge. Children under 15 enter free.
Ruptured Budgie ‘best’
on says he has been to a lot of rallies, but the Ruptured Budgie Rally is the best.
“It’s a five-million-star venue,” he says. “The nearest street light is 56km away. It’s a back-to-basics rally tat’s really peaceful with bloody nice people.”
Organisers say it is a motorcycle-only rally, with “absolutely no cars” allowed on site.
They also do not allow dogs, cats, BYO alcohol, glass, “dickheads or attitudes”.
Origins of the rally name
Our original article called it the Busted Budgie rally, but we were quickly corrected with the proper name.
That got us wondering how it inherited that name.
MGCQ secretary Robin Jones says it was suggested by club member Peter Thompson more than 24 years ago.
“He is still a member and will be at the rally, although his version of how the name arouse can differ depending on how many beers he has drunk,” Robin says.
“My recollection is that the Budgie part relates to how Australian Guzzi riders affectionately refer to the Moto Guzzi eagle as a budgie.
“The Ruptured part is there to suggest that most Motor Guzzis and their riders are not perfect, shiny and new, but are a bit used and abused.
“Plus the words just sound good together.”
There is another theory from Ian:
During one of the first rallies (before my time with the club) the boys were sitting around the fire enjoying a drink or two discussing among other things a name for our rally. Robin is partly correct in that Thommo (Peter Thompson) did come up with the name and that the Australian Guzzisti do refer to the Moto Guzzi logo, eagle, as a budgie. However, the name actually came about from the fact that the NSW Guzzi Club (Moto Guzzi Owners Association NSW) had named their rally the Ragged Fringe Rally, inferring that Guzzi riders are on the ragged fringe of society. Of course needing to go one better but in keeping with the same theme, further discussion was based around the Guzzi logo and how Guzzi riders are a ragged looking rabble. As the night grew longer and the tongues looser, many names were thrown around but it was the Ruptured Budgie, as suggested by Thommo, that was agreed upon. The ‘Ruptured Budgie’ was born.