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THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN CLUBMAN ROUNDUP (GACR)

 

(Article written for the Sprite Club Newsletter) 

 

Some members of the Sprite Club own Clubman type sports cars as they have no dedicated club of their own. There is a loose organisation in existence that lists about 50 Clubman owners in the greater Adelaide Area but in general the members are happy to maintain that informal grouping and join other clubs if they wish.

The Clubman movement in Australia has expanded considerably over the last few years due in no small part to the publication of a book that goes through the process of building your own Clubman on the cheap (relatively) and easily (also relatively). This explosion of numbers has seen several web based chat groups come into existence and this has engendered an excellent exchange of advice on many different topics. In addition it has fostered camaraderie amongst Clubman builders and owners throughout Australia.

Mike Laws, an Adelaide based builder put forward an idea that we have a national “get together” of Clubman cars. This idea met with an enthusiastic response and Mike then put a great deal of time and effort into bringing his idea to fruition. This culminated in “The Great Australian Clubman Roundup” (GACR) being held at Echuca on the River Murray in the north of Victoria on the weekend of 23rd – 24th October 2004.

Ten Adelaide based clubbies including some Sprite Club members travelled over for the weekend. Six cars drove over and four cars were trailered for various reasons. Five of us travelled in convoy on the Friday. We arranged to meet at Tailem Bend and finally all arrived and set off. One of the cars was doing some testing of a small motor cycle trailer and side curtains (doors).  We travelled along the Mallee Highway through Lameroo and Pinaroo to Ouyen where we stopped for a lunch and refuel break. The countryside through here is a generally flat grain farming area. There are a number of small towns that seem to be based on railway whistle stops for the transport of the grain harvest. One of these, just over the Victorian border was Cowangie, that boasted a sign saying it was the birthplace and one time home of Larry Perkins.

While we were refuelling the lady at the service station came out and took photos of us and the cars. When we were parked in the street during our lunch break there was a constant stream of “rubber neckers” and lots of

 comments and questions.

 

 

 

After a long (700Km) but trouble free trip we made it to Echuca at around 5.30pm and set up camp at a Caravan

Park  on the New South Wales side of the River.

 

   

 

                                We were able to pitch our tents right on the bank on a bend in the river.

 

 

 

It had been a great day. Once we had settled in we went into Echuca for dinner and found a group of about twenty other clubbie people at the same venue.

Saturday morning was registration time at an area where all the cars could be displayed. It was great to see some 36 clubbies in the one place and to meet people who previously had only been a name on a web chat line. There were cars from SA, VIC, TAS, NSW and QLD and one owner/builder had flown over from Perth. There was more tyre kicking and bench racing for the rest of the morning. Lunch was provided at this venue

After lunch the Principal of Morley Ford (the local Ford dealer), gave us a briefing on the afternoons observation run/rally. We started off from the Morley Ford showrooms and travelled about 90 Km or so crossing from Vic to NSW and back several times before finishing up at a bakery in Nathalia for afternoon tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here our route cards were handed in for evaluation and grading. Another unusual sight for people in country Victoria was provided by having over 30 clubbies parked in the main street on a nice sunny Saturday afternoon. The bakery provided a good spread for afternoon tea and eventually we made our way back to Echuca via our own choice of route.

A dinner had been organised for that evening at the Rich River Golf Club that was on the NSW side of the river. It is always good to see the facilities that the various clubs in NSW provide. This Golf Club was of three stories with numerous dining/conference rooms. It also provided top class 5 star accommodation and had many bars and gaming areas. The dinner was an enjoyable social get together with many new friendships already formed. Awards for the days observation run, longest distance travelled etc were handed out and a CD of images taken by the official photographer were shown on a screen.

The Sunday morning had been set aside for a show and shine display on the lawned bank of the river near the Echuca Civic Centre. Again this was a great sight with so many clubbies displayed in one place.  A team of three judges spent a considerable time inspecting the cars and just before lunch the awards were made. A couple of the SA cars featured in this, so a lot of hard work and effort had been rewarded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several short (thankfully) speeches were made and the mantle of organising next years GACR was handed over to the Victorian Clubman Builders Group. Preliminary discussions on timing and location suggested the last weekend in October and Bright in the Victorian Alpine Region. There will be more discussion over the next few weeks before a final decision is made and then the organising will begin.

The final organised part of the GACR was a catered BBQ lunch on the river bank and then it was up to individuals as to whether they left for home straight away or organised other activities on a personal basis. Some groups went out sight seeing around the local area. Having a look through the Old Port area and the river was well worth a look and the RSL Club on the NSW side had an interesting museum.

Some of the others spent the afternoon around the pool at their motel and swapped drives in each others cars to feel the difference between lightweight, sporting versions, heavier cruising versions and heavier, turboed, sporty ones. Every car was different in some way with none of the 36 cars being identical. This is one of the beauties of Clubman Cars. You know one when you see one (like station wagons) but they all have some subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) differences which distinguish one make from another and then there are differences within makes.

Some of the South Australian contingent with cars on trailers and one driving his own car left on the Sunday afternoon to head back. Our group of five planned to meet on the Monday morning at Morley Ford on the western outskirts of Echuca and drive back to Adelaide in convoy.

We finally got away at a little after 8 when everybody had refuelled at Maccas and the cars had refuelled at Shell. I was towing the trailer this time as I intended buying it for a long trip I’m planning next year. We took a different route for the home journey. We basically headed due west from Echuca using local “B” roads until we reached Charlton. From there we went through Donald, Warracknabeal, Dimboola, Nhill, Bordertown and then home to Adelaide. From Charlton onwards was a bit of déjà vu for me as I used to often belt home from Puckapunyal for weekends when I was in the Army. The roads were great and the trip went well. When we pulled up at a service station in Warracknabeal for a rest break the owner called the local newspaper man to come and take photos of us and our cars.

 

 

 

We were told we’d make the front page of the next issue of the local weekly paper. One of our group left a name and address so we could be sent a copy. Haven’t heard anything so far. We stopped off at a nice bakery in Nhill for lunch and got the usual looks and comments from the locals and a bus tour passing through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our cars suffered a broken mudguard support not far past Bordertown and completed the trip looking a little lopsided as the guard was sitting on the passenger’s seat. Our final stop was at Tailem Bend where we said our goodbyes and made our way to our individual homes.

What a great weekend! Good weather, good friends, good cars, good driving roads, good weather, a great weekend location and an excellent camping area. The trailer was easy to tow. Most of the time you wouldn’t even know it was there, although fuel consumption increased by about a litre per 100Km.

Let’s see what GACR 2005 is like!

 

Kym Ninnes