Rotorua local Bruce Calkin won the Fieldays ute-draw. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua local Bruce Calkin won the Fieldays ute-draw. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua local and Fieldays fan Bruce Calkin was waiting for a call with the results of his chemotherapy when he received the news of being the winner of a brand-new ute.
The Fieldays organisers often run a prize draw, this time to win a new Isuzu D-Max - all visitors had to do was register and return the smart band they received at the entry after the event. The prize, a white Isuzu D-Max LX Double Cab Auto 4WD, is valued at $61,990 and also includes all on-road costs.
Calkin is a Fieldays regular, but his throat cancer diagnosis, treatment and Covid had put a stop to his visits for a while.
“When I was diagnosed with cancer, I had to undergo a pre-treatment and have a tonsillectomy, then I got Covid. So, it all got delayed. I didn’t end up starting treatment until September,” Calkin says.
When he and his wife Julie heard Fieldays moved to the summer for 2022, they thought it would be a good opportunity to have a day out.
“We brought a truckload of beef jerky, and some wine and spent time looking at the range of outdoor fires. It was good to be back ... Never in a million years did I think I would win [the ute]. I have only ever won $100 at Lotto, it seems my luck might be changing,” Calkin says.
When New Zealand National Fieldays Society chief executive Peter Nation gave him a call to let him know he won, Calkin thought he was scammed.
“You’re bloody kidding me … I can’t believe it,” Calkin said when the news began to sink in.
“It couldn’t have gone to a more deserving winner,” Nation says.
From left: Bruce Calkin, Taryn Storey from the NZ National Fieldays Society and Ross Sommerville from Isuzu Utes New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
Calkin says he will take his new ute on a maiden voyage around town to show it off to family and friends. As he and Julie are keen mountain bikers, they will then take the ute to a special place.
“We will head to the Redwoods with the bikes on the back. The last year has been brutal, but you know it could be worse and at least I can still get out on the trails,” he says.
Fieldays has been running for 54 years and moved to the summer in 2022 to play catch-up after Covid.
The Fieldays Smart Bands, which visitors receive at the entry, contain special technology allowing visitors to scan their bands at certain stalls for more information on exhibitors or to enter competitions.
The white Isuzu D-Max LX Double Cab Auto 4WD is valued at $61,990 and also includes all on-road costs.
In 2021 the ute was voted NZ4WD Magazine’s Ute of the Year, the first time this model has won the award and a year after it was launched in New Zealand.
