Well, it is official, the i98FM Illawarra Convoy has now become a habit. For the third year now, I have made the journey down to the from Brisbane to the thriving metropolis of Wollongong to experience the action-packed event that is the legendary i98FM Illawarra Convoy and just like my previous experiences I came away smiling, sunburnt, and with my ear drums severely tested. And, again, just like my previous experiences, I am not complaining at all. In fact, 2026 is already on the drawing board. Let’s first have a bit of a look at what made 2025 such an epically emotional event.
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In case you have been living under a rock and were unaware of the i98FM Illawarra Convoy I will give you a very brief overview of its history and pedigree.
Marty Haynes organised the first convoy back in 2005 where it ran under the ‘Convoy and Carnival for Cancer Kids’. It wasn’t Marty’s first stab at this sort of charity work having run a similar event in the ACT when he was working on a radio station in Canberra. When he took on the breakfast radio role with i98FM he decided to take the event up a level in the Illawarra region.
That initial event had a lofty goal of raising $20,000 for Camp Quality and ended up exceeding that and hitting $52,000.
As the years passed the fundraising goals grew and so did the participant numbers.
In 2016 it became the i98FM Illawarra convoy and has become the largest Truck and Motorbike Convoy in the Southern Hemisphere.
The event has broadened its charity reach and now distributes funds around a wide range of groups and individuals in the Illawarra Community. Since its inception the team have now raised over $29 million dollars to help and assist thousands of people in thousands of difficult circumstances.
That’s a very brief summation of this amazing events’ heritage, but before I get into a roundup of the 2025 Convoy, I need to mention the biggest of the i98FM Illawarra Convoys fundraising ideas, the lead truck auction. Every year companies, teams, riders, basically anyone who wants, participates in a live Auction for starting positions in both the motorcycle convoy and the Truck convoy. The live Auction, which is streamed across more social media platforms than I am aware of has become a stand-alone event on its own.
This year the motorcycle convoy was once again won by Coles Illawarra.
With a winning bid of $156,000 – this marked the fifth straight year for the Coles Illawarra team. Here is where the true spirit of the Convoy came out though, Coles opted to hand the lead position to Kris Beretov from the motorcycle charity group, Throttle Jockies. Kris is currently in his own cancer struggle and was gracious in accepting the offer. Hold the phone though folks. Kris then offered the lead position to Lee Tanks and his family.
Lee is the son of the late Ann Tanks. Ann had been an integral part of the Illawarra convoy from way back in the Cancer and Carnival days. She was a beacon of altruism for many years and a massive part of the convoy’s continuing success. Unfortunately, Ann passed away earlier this year and will be sorely missed by all of those around the Community.
The lead truck bidding war was as action packed as previous years, with long-time supporters like M J Rowles and Murrel Freight Lines coming in with bids of $145,000 and $108,985 respectively. The winning bid went to another long-time supporter of the Convoy, Ross Transport. They had the honour of leading off the convoy for the third time, but the first since 2010, with a winning bid of $305,000.
It is some big money we are talking about and the companies involved are fundraising all year round just to be in the fight when the bidding war starts. It is all in the name of charity and all about helping those that need it. Without getting too mushy I want to thank all of those involved for the effort and dedication they point into raising these kinds of numbers year in, year out.
Now with all that done, let’s see what makes this such an amazing community event.
I think the operative word there is community. I followed and lapped the convoy on its entire route from the West Cliff Colliery on the outskirts of Wollongong, through Bulli Tops, down Mt Ousley, through Warrawong, down Shell Harbour Rd and looping round to end up filling up the tarmac at the Shell Harbour Airport.
Every vantage point along the route is full of people. The entire community and beyond turn up. This year’s convoy colour was a beautiful blue, so the streets were decked out in blue convoy shirts everywhere. It wasn’t just a literal sea of convoy shirts though, there were supporters of all denominations on hand. From suits and ties to singlets and thongs, everyone gets out for this event.
The i98FM Illawarra convoy has become a staple of the community calendar and even in the blistering sun with the temperature cracking 30 degrees (celcius) the streets were awash of supporters and sunscreen.
Parking is at a premium when you get to the event and as such there is a regular drop and go bus service so you can leave your car at the massive parking area just a couple of kilometres from the airport and catch a ride straight to the gate. If you do make the effort to attend next year, I thoroughly encourage you to arrive on an empty stomach as the grounds are flooded with food trucks of every inclination. My vote goes to the Volkswurst VW BBQ food truck, awesome idea and a damn fine bratwurst to back it up.
The event still ties very heavily into the original carnival idea and as such there rides galore for kids of all ages. Some of them I was happy to be well outside the weight regulations for. After scoping them out and being turned away from all but one (no, I’m not telling you which one) I wandered my way down to the back to once again to marvel at the mad motorcross riders doing stuff I have neither the skills nor stones, to try. Just watching them was enough to get my heart rate up.
For those after more sedate entertainment there is the car show going on alongside the runway. So, you get to appreciate some beautiful builds whilst keeping an eye on the trucks rolling in and filling the runway.
Let’s not forget the motorcycles as well. Admittedly quite a few had scampered by the time I got into the airport but there was still more than enough to keep me gawking for the afternoon. I doubt I could ride one without some training wheels but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the quality of some of the machinery there.
A true reflection of the magnitude of the i98Fm Illawarra convoy can be seen by the run sheet for the massive stage that is erected at the east end of the airport.
Headlining this year’s event was the legendary Screaming Jets. Whilst my flight home prohibited me from enjoying their concert, I did get to enjoy the talents of Large Mirage as they belted out some classic covers. If I had any rhythm, I swear I would have broken out some dance moves. Lucky for everyone though I just sat still and sung silently on the inside.
I could rabbit on and list all the entertainment options on offer, but I strongly suggest you just enjoy the photos and make a plan to get down to the i98FM Illawarra Convoy next year. You can’t even use the entry fee excuse as a reason to avoid the show as there is no entry fee. You get to just wander in and enjoy it and that is what I saw hundreds of families doing again this year.
The team that puts this all together, the volunteers that help it work and the entrants that make this such an amazing event all deserve our respect and support. Mark it on your calendars and I will catch you there in 2026, the Volkswursts are on me.
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