“A community divided is a community defeated,” he told the launch of the Clare Valley Breakaway Festival on Friday night.

“The Tour Down Under has helped to weld our towns and villages together.”

The Breakaway Festival will link a series of events across the region which will take place in the four days leading up to the Tour Down Under Stage One start in Clare on Tuesday, January 19, 2009.

Mr Aughey said the festival was bringing together the volunteers of the region who were working together as one for a successful outcome.

“There is nothing this community cannot achieve if it puts its mind to it,” he said.

Mr Aughey was wearing a tailor-made multicoloured jacket for the launch which he plans to ask American cycling champion Lance Armstrong to autograph when he arrives in the Clare Valley to take part in the Tour.

He acknowledged the sponsors of the event, starting with platinum sponsor Peter and Veronica Eaton of Expanda Stand who had earlier made a grand helicopter entrance to the festival launch.

Together with fellow members of the Whippets for Wishes crew, they landed on Clare Oval in Daryl Gates’ bright red Squirrel AS350 helicopter after a spectacular fly-past in conjunction with local pilot Russell Schmidt in his Cessna 182 aircraft.

The helicopter was joined on Clare Oval by Mr Eaton’s rusting 1927 and 1929 Overland Whippet cars, complete with rusting bicycles bolted to the corrugated iron roof of each vehicle.

Mr Aughey joked he was waiting for Mr Eaton to add a submarine to his entourage, although Clare’s distance from any significant body of water may rule out that possibility.

Other sponsors are: Gold – Clare Metal Fabrications, Alano Water, Southern Cross Media. Silver – winesforsale.com, Clare Hotel, Clare Signs, Taylors Wines, Riesling Trail and Clare Valley Cottages, and Pikes Wines. Bronze – Mid North Tech Centre.