https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/world/australia/deni-ute-muster.html

A Wild Country Party in Australia Proves a Balm for Rural
Loneliness

It’s been called the most debauched outdoor party in Australia. But behind the
drunken antics at the Deni Ute Muster, a network of friendship is lifting
awareness of mental health issues.

“Here” is Deniliquin, a small farming town in rural New South Wales, where
thousands of people from around Australia come for a weekend outdoor festival
built around the “ute”, Australia’s beloved utility truck. Conceived of 20 years
ago as a way of giving the local economy a lift, the festival, or muster, has
become a juggernaut of rural identity: Almost 20,000 people attended last
weekend’s muster, which featured Carrie Underwood, the American country music
star.

Research shows that farmers are among those at highest risk of suicide in
Australia, and people living in remote areas take their own lives at twice the
rate of those in the cities. It is particularly bad, many say, among men in
those areas, who are expected to live up to an ideal of good-humored, unwavering
masculinity.

That Aussie ideal was on display even before the festivities officially started
as young men arrived in utes crammed with camping gear and beer, honking,
whooping and waving from the windows.