Sarah Iddles was thrilled to get the chance to hold the Lexus Melbounre Cup on its tour in 2019.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
Thanks to the hard work of the Cobram Lions, one of Australia’s most prized trophies will be passing through Cobram later this year.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The Lexus Melbourne Cup will visit Cobram on Monday, October 6, before heading back to Melbourne and other destinations around the state as part of the 23rd annual Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour.
Cobram Lions past president Janet Austin, who helped apply to make Cobram one of the cup’s 24 rural and regional destinations, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for locals to see the cup up close.
“The Lions decided, if we can get it, we’ll have a go at it and bring it to town,” Mrs Austin said.
“Once we got over the initial shock that we got through, we were very happy and excited about it. It’s something different for Cobram.”
Janet and Max Austin.
Photo by
Contributed
As part of the tour’s festivities, Cobram will go in the running to take out a $50,000 prize in the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour National Sweep.
Each town will be allocated a barrier in the Lexus Melbourne Cup this November, with the prize money going towards a worthy community cause.
“We had to nominate a local group that would benefit, and we thought they’re trying to get this dialysis unit going. They’re going to need money, so we thought if we can get that going, it might get the dialysis unit in town a little quicker,” Mrs Austin said.
“It’s something positive for the community, and locals will benefit from it.”
The 18-carat-gold cup is worth about $850,000.
Other Victorian destinations for the tour, which began last Thursday, June 5, include Nagambie, Euroa and South Gippsland.
13°C