“I was always more into the cars than the film itself, but my interest in Mad Max as a film has definitely grown,” former local Cameron Manewell said. 

Now living in Newcastle, Cam was ‘discovered’ by a car scout in search of cars for the film. Cameron’s reputation preceeded him thanks to his involvement with rebuilding old Falcons into Mad Max ‘interceptors’ for private enthusiasts.

“There are probably around 50 or 60 replicas around the world. There is a real cult following,” Cam said.

Cam made or modified 10 different cars in total for the new film, five of which were the iconic interceptors.

Cam worked alongside fellow Great Lakes mechanic Alex Strachan, who jumped on board the project on Cam’s recommendation. They have known each other for 25 years, attending Forster Primary School, then Forster High School. They both made the move to Broken Hill in 2010 for filming but the shoot was eventually abandoned due to heavy rain ‘beautifying’ the region in colour for the first time in 30 years.

"It didn’t look very post-apocalyptic anymore," Cam said.

Expecting his first child, Cam decided against following the rescheduled shoot to Namibia in Africa, but waved Alex off. 

“It was my first time overseas. I was living on the skeleton coast for 11 months, it’s pretty arid, with not much plant life there at all. We tested everything over and over again over six months, because once filming starts you can’t hold it up,” Alex said.

Many of the cars had to be modified to handle the Namibian sand, which was different to that found around Broken Hill. Of the 65 cars in total that went, only three of Cam’s 10 cars made it back. 

“The rest had engines blow up, all sorts of things happened to them,” Cam said.

Another car that didn’t make it back as a whole was a Chevy featuring a rare GMCV12 engine, supplied by Nabiaç’s Ian ‘Elvis’ Davis.  A fibreglass mould was taken of the engine, and it is believed Elvis has been able to reclaim a couple of the parts. 

Cam jumped back on board the Fury’s trail this month, helping Alex and his team set up the cars at the Opera House for the premiere, and walking the red carpet to see the acclaimed film by Australian director George Miller for the first time. He said after waiting so long to see the project come to fruition, it was great to see his cars on the big screen.

“But I think you could always want a bit more air time for things you’ve been involved in. There were 126 cars, bikes, and motorcycles used in the filming, so there was only so much time they could give to mine,” he laughed.

“It was pretty amazing. Spending so long with the vehicles you get very attached,” said Alex.

Both men have worked on other film projects since Fury Road. 

“From what I’ve learnt working in film, you have to be versatile,” Alex said. 

With a sequel in the pipeline, who knows what they will be doing next.

Mad Max: Fury Road is currently showing at Great Lakes Cinemas.