Article written by Stu Hunt (via Nelson Mail - 9 August 2025)
When Stu Newport came up with the idea of taking on the Molesworth Station road on ride-on mowers to raise funds, a friend told him he was mad.
Newport wanted to do something in the name of cancer because of friends and family who battled the disease and some who had lost the fight.
That comment galvanised him. His reply was “what about people who go through cancer and go through months and years of pain and suffering and you complain about having a sore butt”.
“We gave it a waterblast and cleaned out the carburettor and it came up pretty good.”
Word got around and a couple of more mates got on board.
A meeting was arranged with Nelson Tasman Hospice and Cancer Society Nelson Tasman. Again the word “madness” got tossed around but instead of pouring cold water on the idea they just had one question. Why the Molesworth?
Newport told them it because it was close and because it wouldn’t be easy.
“It needed to be a challenge”
He’d done the trip plenty of times on motorbikes at a clip but what about doing it slow. The average ride-on mower top speed is somewhere between 7 and 11kmh. Not a lot faster than walking pace.
With the two charities on board, the Mowsworth Rampage was born.
Just before 7am on the 19th of October last year, 32 teams lined up at the start. A safety briefing and a moment of silence and at 7am a starting gun launched the 86km adventure.
Newport says it was more about staying together than turning it into a race. Saying that, some of the mowers were a little faster than others.
“You see someone doing 5kph and you’re doing 7kph and you spend your time knowing you’re going to catch and pass them at a slow pace and give them a hard time and have a chat while you’re doing it.
“Then you do it all again when you slow down for someone else.”
Pitstops every 22km broke up the trip and support crew were constantly cheering everyone on from the sidelines.
“Even strangers would stop to do the same.”
Newport says he was humbled by the amount of help they received on the day from people volunteering their mechanical expertise to local police providing an escort when they reached Hanmer.
He says they didn’t know how many they’d lose. The big fear on the gravel road was flat tyres but there was none of that.
“From the start we just had to deal with whatever came our way. There were a lot of learnings.” There were a couple of breakdowns but nothing major, and a small shower, but Newport says everyone pitched in to get across the line.”
Newport had kidney stones removed a few weeks prior so he was a little worried about the comfort levels without suspension but with the sprung seat it turned out OK.
“I wouldn’t go too much further but wasn’t too bad.”
He says it was a huge relief coming down the hill to the finish line.
“For the last 100m people lined the road cheering and clapping for everyone and we knew we’d done it.
“Thinking of those we’ve lost and are struggling at the moment and knowing that everyone who did it and supported, from driving the mowers to manning the BBQ, made it happen. There were a lot tears as people crossed the finish line.”
What started out as a few mates raising a few hundred dollars ended up raising over $60,000 for the two charities.
With a few minor organisational matters still to be squared away Newport says this year’s event is scheduled to take place on Saturday October 18.
The event will be capped at 50 ride-on lawnmowers with a lot of last year’s entrants having indicated they’re keen to return.
Newport has already begun working on a redesign of his mower.
All that’s required to enter is a mower that’s in reasonable shape and a support crew.
Newport says the mowers can be modified cosmetically but no performance enhancements.
His advice is to tighten belts, make sure the tyres were good, the brakes work, have plenty of fuel and prepare for any weather.
Fire extinguishers are compulsory, Newport disguised his as a nitrous oxide tank, and the blades must be removed.
“Without blades there’s less weight and only belts to worry about.”
Newport says there’s plenty of help on hand through the Facebook page @mowsworthrampage for anyone not confident with the mechanical side of things, and the Mowsworth Rampage website has a section outlining what you need to know from a rider perspective.
Then it’s just a case of getting it to the start line.
