Driven by purpose, a mob of Landcruisers hits the road

Posted on 26 Aug 2025

By Nick Place, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

Long drive cars — The Long Drive for Drought line-up at the 2024 event.

Brent Reeman is today climbing into his trusty Toyota 40 Series Landcruiser for the sixth annual Long Drive for Drought, the epic fundraiser he founded and manages. We spoke to him before he hit the road.

Brent, how did the Long Drive for Drought come about?

It was in 2019, towards the end of a 10-year drought that had gripped a lot of Australia, but almost all of Queensland was declared in drought at that stage. I do a lot of work around regional Queensland, and grew up there, so I have a strong affinity, and I could see the devastating effect it was having on communities. I thought about just making a donation but wanted to try something more meaningful. I’d been restoring an old 1971 Toyota 40 Series Landcruiser at the time, a ute I remembered from when I was a kid. Once it was restored, I thought I’d take it for a big drive, and those two things sort of came together. I thought I could hit up family and friends and raise a bit of money and show a bit of spirit out in the community. I planned to go alone but mentioned what I was doing on a Facebook page for other 40 Series enthusiasts and pretty much a dozen came straight back, saying “We’ll join you”. Suddenly there was movement to raise real money. Someone said, “40 for the 40s” and it became our goal to raise $40,000. I thought, bloody hell, the pressure’s on, but we ended up raising $52,000 or something like that. We ended up driving the first Long Drive in 2020, in the middle of covid. We had meant to do it in March but had to move it to late August–early September. It meant we were one of the first groups out into western Queensland after lockdowns, and for those towns out there, we were the first people they’d seen for six months.

The Long Drive covers almost 3000 km. Pic: LDFD

You’re driving for the sixth time this year?

That’s right. It’s a big commitment for the drivers, and we have a nucleus who come every year. They have to take two weeks off work and family life – some bring their kids – and they have to do their own fundraising and pay their way. We’ve raised all up about $650,000 over the previous five years so it’s really grown. I’ve had to cap the number of Landcruisers at 50 vehicles, because I can’t manage the logistics for more than that number, and the little towns get a bit overwhelmed if you have more than 50 vehicles. You know, 100 people suddenly walk into the local pub … but it looks pretty special when you have the 50 Landcruisers lined up. Now, we coordinate it and make sure everybody knows we’re coming. It’s great for the towns. The drivers in the Long Drive are great; they’re the ones buying raffle tickets and food and petrol. Ampol has been a huge supporter, covering a lot of our expenses. I calculated that we have probably spent more money than we’ve raised when we’re on the drive, so I think we’re up to $750,000 that we’ve spent in the communities, which is big for them. One of the big things we’ve got out of the Long Drive is how the communities react. I think they just like to know that somebody cares and is thinking about their cause.

Do you go to the same towns every year?

No, we mix it up, so we share the love around. We’re pretty much all Queenslanders so the first five years have gone all over Queensland, but this year, we start and finish in Queensland but will spend most of the time in New South Wales. We normally drive between 2500 and 3000 kilometres for the trip.

“I planned to go alone but mentioned what I was doing on a Facebook page for other 40 Series enthusiasts and pretty much a dozen came straight back, saying ‘We’ll join you’.”

Brent Reeman, founder, Long Drive for Drought

What happens to the money you raise?

When I started it, I went looking for a charity to support. I spoke to a lot of people across Queensland about which charities did good work in their community, and they listed a few, but every single person mentioned Farm Angels. I particularly wanted a charity that supported farmer directly. Farm Angels was quite a small organisation, but you could see they didn’t have a lot of overheads, so the money would go to the farmers. And I liked their bespoke model: they go directly to a farmer and say, what do you need? And then supply that. I spoke to Tash [the founder of Farm Angels] and Steele [her husband] and they were just our sort of people. Tash comes on the drive every year and takes us on farm visits to meet farmers who have been helped. They tell their story and how Farm Angels saved their farm or even, sometimes, their life, so it’s really powerful to have that close connection. It makes it real for everyone.

Brent and Farm Angels founder Tash Johnston at last year's drive. Pic: LDFD

Are you still driving the same car?

My ’71 40 Series Landcruiser, “Rex”, is the only one that has done every Long Drive for Drought and will again this year, although it will be down the back, driven by my brother-in- law. I’ll be in “Jim”, my other 40 Series but from 1973. They’re all metal and they shake and rattle and don’t have radios, or air conditioning, or power steering or any of that, so you really feel it when it’s hot or cold. When we drove up to the Gulf last year, the heat was intense. But we have a lot of fun, within the rules.

How else do you raise money?

Merch. You’ve got to have merch! It’s another way we raise funds. Hopefully, by the time we finish this year’s drive, we’ll be up around $800,000 in total money raised. We do a different colour every year, and so this year, because we’re going into New South Wales, we made sure that the merchandise is heavily maroon, especially because Queensland won the State of Origin. We want to show them some love, but not that much love. My wife, Rebecca Michael, does a lot of that behind-the-scenes stuff, and my daughter, Ella, takes care of the social media. It’s a family affair. My son, Jasper, is coming along this year and my 85-year-old dad, George. He drove for a couple of years but now is a passenger, moving between cars and telling stories.

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Disclaimer: The author assists Farm Angels with communications.