One small town has had a huge weekend as thousands drove to Manilla for the annual Vintage Machinery Rally.
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The motor event tore off the line with a Tractor Trek on Friday, June 9, before hosting a rally "on par with the best of 'em," according to President of the Manilla Vintage Machinery Group Tim Scanlon.
"It was just a sea of heads. There were people everywhere, people absolutely everywhere," Mr Scanlon said.
He said it's "very likely" more than 3000 people passed through the gates of the Manilla showground across the two days.
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Every hotel in Manilla was completely booked out as the town's population doubled for the 125-engine rally.
The rally's main features included two of Australia's first-ever steam engines and one hot-air engine, all three of which date back to the late 1800s.
"There's so many engines in the compound we're having a hard time packing things up because we've gotta wait for them to leave," Mr Scanlon said with a laugh on Sunday afternoon.
Visitors were also treated to a parade of vintage motors on Saturday morning.
"The street parade was just magic this year ... people were watching up and down the entire street," Mr Scanlon said.
As for the future of the event, Mr Scanlon said even after 34 years the rally is "just getting started," with more and more people coming along for the ride each year.
"It's just going to get stronger and stronger as long as we can get some young people to carry on once us older fellas are finished," he said.
Mr Scanlon attributed the event's success to a mix of hard work, good weather, and its positioning as an affordable day of classic family fun.
"We must be doing something right, we had people coming from all the way down in Victoria, up as far as Queensland, and lots of people from the coasts," Mr Scanlon said.
Minus running costs, all funds raised at the annual event will be donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Manilla Preschool and Neville Grant's Christmas Run.
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