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PREWAR MG NATIONAL MEETING,
BEECHWORTH 28TH SEPTEMBER TO 1ST OCTOBER 2007
BY BARRY BAHNISCH
Another biennial Beechworth Prewar MG Rally is suddenly over. Apart from the cars (some 63 in all) and the great camaraderie that prewar MG enthusiasm and/or ownership seems to engender.
It would be hard to imagine a better setting for an event such as that. Again we had the extensive, historic and idyllic La Trobe complex all to ourselves, there is nothing quite like it anywhere else in Australia.
The organisation was once again superb, the Victorians certainly know how to stage such events, so we are very much indebted to Jennie and Graeme Jackson and their team! Our daughter Anne (MGC GT owner), partner Graeme and son Thomas came down from the Blue Mountains again and we had our granddaughter Ellie with us, so it was a sort of family affair (our younger daughter Tanya was leading a contingent of her Mercedes College students on a trip to India).
Daph and I trailered our F-type, and the trip over was also pretty much a repeat of last time, we even stayed at the same motels. We did it in easy stages, overnights at Nhill and Shepparton with numerous stops for refreshments, lunches and dinners. As before, Wendy and Moss Upton took their lovely old SA, Helina and Geoff Barnes drove their very original (and healthy) TB but this time we had local MG CC friends Barb and Alan Griffin (trailering our M-type) and Joy and David Pearson (MGB) and very notably New Zealand prewar MG owners/enthusiasts Heather and Gary Wall (as last time), Brenda and John Hancock and Coral and Frank Langridge.
All in all, the trip over was a great prelude to the rally itself! On arrival we met up with Mike Greenwood and Jan (who brought our M-type over last time) and Di and David Holmes all of whom had made their own way over. South Australian Tim Harper also brought along his delightful NB tourer.
This time Anne drove the F-type for most of the time, my knee replacement is taking a long time to recover!
On Saturday there was an impressive line-up of all of the prewar MG's (certainly the most ever gathered together in Australia--if not the world?) adjacent to the historic court house (the scene of Ned Kelly's committal hearing) and gaol and much prewar MG chit-chat and swapping of stories.
On Sunday we headed south along the Ovens Valley to Bright and on to the little village of Wandilgong where the locals arranged a hearty lunch. Unfortunately it was rather drizzly down there but then again much like the English weather that MG's were made for! That evening there was the Rally Dinner and illustrated talks by Harry Hickling, who drove his SA drophead coupe on the Peking to Paris Rally (and got there after many trials and tribulations) and Brian Moylan, retired Abingdon employee who spent his latter years in the Competition Department.
After breakfast on Monday morning it was time to load up and go our separate ways.
All of the prewar MG diehards, both owners and enthusiasts, from all over Australia attend these rallies, this time quite a few from as far away as WA. There is a great bond, we are all good friends (of over 30 years standing in some cases) as we have much in common. It is all very relaxed with thankfully no pressures of competition or concours, etc.
There is only the Peter Harper Memorial Award for the "favourite" car (voted by the entrants), an SA Tickford from WA being the worthy winner (having been brought over from Perth in a container!) and our F-type was again the runner-up.
The challenge will be to continue to make the weekend attractive to far-away "interstaters" and additional activities are being considered for next time. Originally it was hoped that the event would be staged in each State in turn, and much as we would love to take a turn at hosting the event in SA (if nothing else to save us Croweaters having to make the fairly long trip!), it seems to be too hard an act to follow! As a matter of interest, the year 2009 will mark the 70th anniversary of the 1939 AGP won by previous guest of honour Alan Tomlinson in a TA Special and there are plans for some sort of commemoration at Lobethal, but it seems unlikely that we would be able to attract the number of entrants from other States that have been supporting Beechworth.
Barry Bahnisch
The inaugural 2005 event was a resounding success and a similar format will be followed this year. There was quite a contingent of South Australians and their cars last year and the trip was such an enjoyable one that it is planned to do exactly the same again! Thus we will have Helina and Geoff Barnes in the TB, Mike Greenwood and Jan (MGC?), Wendy and Moss Upton in the SA and Daph and I trailering the F2. Regrettably Peter Shipside and Vicki and their majestic WA Tickford will not be with us this time, they are organising a trip to the UK instead! On the plus side, however, Joy and David Pearson are coming, along with Barb and Alan Griffin (who are trailering our M-type), while New Zealanders Heather and Gary Wall (from last time) will have compatriots the Hancocks and the Langridges (all multiple Prewar MG owners) joining us as well! Other South Aussies will probably meet us there.
Again the La Trobe complex will be the focus in terms of accommodation and social events with a Saturday line-up of cars in the town, while on Sunday there will be a tour of two vintage aircraft centres, the latter at Wangaratta where aircraft (mostly war-time) from all over the world are undergoing restoration. Some sixty Prewar MG’s entered last time end the organisers are confident that more will be there this time, the word has spread and there are a few newly-restored cars are sure to be there.
On a personal note just about our whole family will be there, our daughter Anne (with Graeme and Thomas, who live in the Blue Mountains) again (too many bodies for her MGC GT ?) as well as our grand daughter Ellie (this time) but Tanya will be away (taking a school party to India). As a final aside, I have forewarned some of my MG CC of SA colleagues that they might like to take a (perhaps brief) spell at the wheel of our M-type (pretty easy and excellent fun) and F2 (a hard-charging handful) in the course of the weekend.