James Freeman revs up Shitbox Rally nationally from Adelaide in 2010 to raise millions in funds for cancer research
Adelaide's James Freeman (top left), founder of the Shitbox Rally, for cars valued at less than $1,500 and raising funds for cancer research, with a notable participant, United States of America's ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy (bottom left) in the autumn 2024 Adelaide-Perth rallky (see route on inset map).
Images courtesy Shitbox Rally; Caroline Kennedy image from Nine Network's 60 Minutes
James Freeman founded the Shitbox Rally in Adelaide in 2010 as a fun fundraiser to overcome the heartbreak, at 31, of losing both his parents to cancer within 12 months. Freeman’s mother was the first person in the world to be diagnosed with a rare cancer-producing gene.
In the 13 years up to 2024, the Shitbox Rally, for vehicles valued at less than $1,500, had raised $40 million for cancer research as it spread nationwide from South Australia.
The 2024 Adelaide-to Perth-autumn rally’s participants included the United States of America’s ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of president John F. Kennedy. Remembering his mother having strangers join the family for Christmas, Freeman devised the rally as a blend of outback adventure, camaraderie and purpose that united people from diverse backgrounds in a common cause of raising money for cancer control.
Vehicles often broke down on the rally but “we never leave anyone behind” and each night was spent camping beneath the stars. It also created an environment where people openly discussed their cancer.
The rally became the largest fundraiser for the Cancer Council nationally, with all teams having to raising minimum of $5,000 but usually much more than that. The Cancer Council provided the second tier behind the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of funding for groundbreaking cancer research projects. Among 2023 funding generated by the Shitbox Rally was $444,186 for Adelaide’s Flinders University and associate professor Luke Selth’s work in harnessing androgen-mediated viral mimicry to improve immunotherapy in prostate cancer. Also $433,228 to Adelaide University’s professor Lisa Butler and her patient-derived discovery platform for companion biomarker development in prostate cancer.
