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Previous Events in which Our Club has Participated
DIAMOND CREEK TOWN FAIR
Saturday, 10th September
 Waiting for procession to start at Diamond Creek |
 The cavalcade climbs the main street of Diamond Creek |
 Tail end of the cavalcade |
 FORDCA members' vehicles at Diamond Creek |
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 Our cars captured whilst the sun was shining! |
 The British Bedford truck gets some admiring viewers |
 Cougar on the L-MCC stand |
 Lincoln on the L-MCC stand |
 Ford Thunderbird on L-MCC stand |
Most country towns have a town fair or art festival of some kind each year. On 10th September it was the turn of Diamond Creek to have their very own town fair. Why am I telling you this? Well we, as a club, had been invited to participate in this event as one of two invited car clubs (the other being the Lincoln Mercury Car Club) to display our cars in the centre of the football oval in the middle of town. As many of you will be aware, the weather in the first two weeks of September had been pretty good and we were looking forward to a good day with ten or so little Fords to fly the flag.
The one thing you learn if you live in Melbourne is don't trust the weather! It sure did change on us in the days before that event! Instead of fine and dry with 10 or 12 cars we got COLD and WET with 4 little Fords and a bedFORD van for our display. But never mind, we who were there drove in the grand parade up and down the main street, honking our horns and waving to the crowds lining the pavements, and then parked up in the centre of the oval.
There were plenty of stalls to check out and many lookers who took an interest in our cars. For the first hour or so it was not bad, with a few light showers between patches of brilliant blue sky and warm sunshine. With many different food stalls there to choose from, some very difficult decisions had to be made as to what to have for lunch. We were parked right beside an area set aside for wood chop demonstrations and it was very entertaining.
Unfortunately, the period of time between the showers grew less and that warm sunshine we'd had disappeared, so by about 1:30pm the consensus was that home was going to be the best place. With the rain getting harder and the crowds thinning very quickly, we made a break for it.
The local Rotary club committee put in a lot of work in organizing this event and it was most disappointing to see all their work go down the drain with the rainwater.
We will look at doing the run again next year as a bit to help these local groups in their endeavours.
MARONG PICNIC WEEKEND,
Saturday, 27th to Monday, 29th August
 FORDCA display at Marong |
 The Ford 10hp powered Freighter Lawton baggage tractor attracted a lot of attention |
 AEC truck at Marong |
 Graham Paige sedan |
 Model A Ford |
 Buick sedan |
 Ford MkII Zephyr ute |
 Vauxhall Velox sedan |
 Ford Mainline ute |
What a great weekend! Good company; a quiet little country town and a warm bed, not to mention a car show with over 1000 vehicles of all different makes and models on display (an all-time record for the event), and we got paid to be there - what more could you ask for?!!
This was the weekend of the Federation Marong Picnic, and what a great time we had. We had seven members staying at the Marong Caravan Park for the weekend and we started on the Saturday with an inspection of someone's new palace on wheels, followed by a communal BBQ and a quiet evening in the park's common room with a wood fired heater to keep the chills away. Well, it was quiet until someone told a joke about a drunkard on a swing and a comment from one of our number to the effect that "the other half couldn't sit on a swing these days" sent the girls scurrying to a nearby kiddies' playground to prove otherwise!! Ha! Ha!
Bright and early on the Sunday we were at the footie oval ready to do traffic duty. Our job was to make sure that show cars (i.e. those more than 25 years old) were guided on to the oval, with "moderns" directed to public parking elsewhere. The Federation had also asked us to hand out a "Welcome to our 20th Marong Picnic" letter to each show car owner and a Shannons "CPS log book" pouch to all cars on the CPS. The girls were to cope with this job admirably. With over 1,000 cars coming through, we had a busy time, but as all the cars had to pass by us we got to see them all without having to walk the oval.
After the raffle was drawn (unfortunately, no luck for anyone in our club this year), a few of us stood on point duty to get them out as quickly and as safely as we could. It is amazing how fast an event can empty when a few reckon it is time to head for home!
In our display area by the main entrance to the oval, we had an immaculate light green 100E Prefect; a two-tone brown A494A Anglia tourer; a Lichen green 100E Escort wagon and a beige A493A Prefect coupe ute. After lunch these were joined by a most unusual piece of equipment - a Freighter Lawton baggage tractor powered by a Ford10hp engine, which caused a lot of interest.
The day was then completed with a great meal at the local pub, where those on site were joined by our local Area Rep and his wife. The weekend finished off on Monday morning with a cooked breakfast.
For once we had had good weather for the time of year and everyone enjoyed themselves.
COMMEMORATING 75 YEARS OF THE Model CX De Luxe - THE CLUB'S DISPLAY AT THE FORD DISCOVERY CENTRE, GEELONG
July and August
 Model CX De Luxe sedan on the FORDCA display |
 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster, well-type utility on the FORDCA stand |
 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster on the FORDCA stand |
 FORDCA Display in the Ford Discovery Centre |
 Four Small fords in the Ford Discovery Centre |
 The origins of Geelong's name |
To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the introduction of the marque to Australia, we had three different examples of the 1936/37 Model CX De Luxe (a sedan; a roadster and a roadster, well-type ute) on display at the FDC in July and August this year.
Apparently, within days of the display being set-up, a TV crew were there to make an edition of the popular weekly programme, Collectors, which was aired in July. Unfortunately, the TV Director chose a different part of the building to do the filming so our cars never made the small screen!
The FDC was also expecting a high-powered delegation from Ford USA and Ford Australia to visit the FDC in the week - commencing 29th August, but the visit was cancelled at the last minute! So it was a case of "we nearly hit the spotlight", but in the meantime our display apparently impressed many visitors.
We collected our cars in early September.
OPEN DAY AT MARANOA GARDENS, BALWYN,
Saturday, 13th August
 Cars awaiting departure from Koomba Park, Wantirna |
 After arrival at Beckett Park |
 ...we were greeted by "Gecko"
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 FORDCA members await opening ceremony at Maranoa Gardens
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 Tame owl enthrals the crowd.. |
 ...and the kookaburra laughed to order. |
We met up as arranged at Koomba Park, Wantirna and yes - those deep potholes and puddles that were there last year are still there, making it tricky to get into and out of the car park. We somehow contrived to have representatives from all the principal types covered by the club, from a very early car (a 1933 Model Y sedan); to a pre-war "Upright" (a 1939 E93A Prefect sedan); a post-war "Upright" (a 1951 A494A Anglia tourer); a 100E (a 1960 Escort wagon), and finishing up with an example of the youngest type we cater for (a 1960 105E Anglia saloon).
We had an uneventful drive in convoy to Beckett Park, Balwyn (next door to Maranoa Gardens), where we were greeted by "Mr Gecko". However, we were amazed to see how full the car park was and we were lucky to be able to find the spaces to park together - a complete contrast to last year! It just goes to show how popular the Open Day is becoming.
There were similar attractions to last year, with the "portable zoo" people bringing a slightly different mix of native wildlife, including an example of Australia's smallest owl, and a kookaburra that laughed to order. There were the usual stalls selling native plants and there was a display of basket making out of twigs.
We were blessed with fine weather and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. However, one member had to leave early to fulfill another engagement - and paid the penalty by being booked for doing 78kph in a 70kph area!
TAKING CARS TO THE FORD DISCOVERY CENTRE,
Saturday, 25th June
 The CX sedan and roadster on Western Beach, Geelong overlooking Corio Bay |
 The CX roadster on Western Beach, Geelong |
 The CX sedan at the FDC, with fictitious FORD 10 plates fitted |
 The three CXs in the reception bay of the FDC, prior to going on display |
 MkIII Cortina and MkI Consul inside the FDC |
 Farewelling at rear of FDC, Geelong after lunch |
Three F.O.R.D.C.A. members put their prized Model CXs on display at the Ford Discovery Centre in Geelong during July and August to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the marque. Our display comprised a blue roadster; a black sedan and a green & black roadster ute, all appropriately dating from 1936.
We agreed to take our cars to Geelong on Saturday, 25th June. The owners of the roadster and sedan, were accompanied from the eastern suburbs by a third member in a "modern" who was going to ferry them back home after depositing their cars at the FDC. We called in at the Little River service station for a cuppa and to stretch our legs, and stopped to take some photographs on Western Beach, as we approached the FDC.
We met the owners of the roadster ute at the FDC. They had already put their car in the reception area at the FDC and had booked it in. We were also joined by a local couple in a very nice early 100E Prefect who had found out about our run from the F.O.R.D.C.A. website. We all went to a nearby pub for a terrific lunch before making our separate ways home.
SOUTHERN TASSIE MEET,
Sunday, 19th June
 The ute on arrival at Wandong on 14th June |
 Another view of the ute at Wandong |
Nine F.O.R.D.C.A. members living in Southern Tasmania gathered at the Acton Park home of our newest members for afternoon tea and a "get-to-know-each other" meet, and what a lovely spread it was! Our hosts haven't got a Small Ford as yet but the bug has already bitten, as they have pleasant memories of earlier motoring days in a Prefect.
Club cars present were a 1949 A494A Anglia sedan and a 1951 A494A Anglia tourer.
This day was to be extra-special for one member who lives in Lindisfarne, as he had spent the weekend collecting his A493A Prefect coupe utility, recently purchased from Bathurst, N.S.W. and delivered to a F.O.R.D.C.A. member's home at Wandong, Victoria on 14th June. From there, the ute was trailered down to Station Pier, where a couple of emergency repairs had to be effected before it could be driven onto the Saturday night ferry. On arrival back at Devonport on the Sunday morning, the ecstatic owner had driven the ute on to his waiting trailer and headed for home in Lindisfarne, where he had deposited the trailer before continuing on to Acton Park to join the gathering and tell us of his exploits!
A very pleasant afternoon was spent going over brag books, photos, etc and just having a good time. The party broke up around 4:30pm
RUN TO MOORABBIN AND PORT PHILLIP BAY,
Sunday, 19th June
 Cars outside the National Aircraft Museum at Moorabbin |
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 Cars outside the National Aircraft Museum at Moorabbin |
 A493A Prefect sedan and Bristol Freighter |
 Anglia tourer and Bristol Freighter |
 100E Escort and Vickers Viscount |
 105E Anglia and Wessex helicopter |
 Cars in albert Park, Melbourne |
Seeing as this was a winter run and the weather had been quite cold and damp, it was decided that we would organize a run that involved indoor venues.
We started the day by meeting at Macca's (McDonalds) at Noble Park at 10:00 a.m. for coffee. We had 9 starters in two "moderns" and four club cars: a 1950 A494A Anglia tourer; a 1953 A493A Prefect sedan; a 1960 100E Escort estate car and a 1960 105E Anglia de luxe.
We left Macca's for an easy run down to the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin, where we parked close to the museum's entrance. The museum is run by volunteers, most of them appearing quite elderly and the aircraft and paraphernalia displayed was very interesting but they still have a mountain of work in front of them to restore and preserve the aircraft there. We got the feeling that they run on a pretty tight budget. It would be great to see them get the funding and resources to preserve these historic aircraft.
Before the next stage of the run, we repositioned our cars alongside the perimeter fence of the museum so that we could get a picture with some of the aircraft in the background.
From there we continued south west down to the bayside, to a little cafe at Beaumaris for lunch. This place had previously been recommended to us and the recommendation was certainly valid. They had a lunch time special and for $12.50 we got a choice of salad, a pasta and a wine or soft drink. Good value, good venue, good food and good company, how could you go wrong?
After lunch, we farewelled two members in a "modern" before the rest of us headed roughly north along Beach Road towards the city, then turned up Kerferd Road towards Albert Park Lake. We thought about doing a quick lap of the F1 Circuit but remembered we were in Small Fords so, after a brief conflab in a layby, we stopped for a coffee at the golf club in the park instead!
From there we headed home. We'd had a look at some old aircraft, a nice lunch, a pleasant drive and the weather had remained fine, so what more could you ask for?
KARINGAL SWAP MEET,
Sunday, 5th June
.jpg) 105E Anglia at Karingal |
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 swap meet flyer |
Two members of our Melbourne (Eastern Suburbs) Group wishing to give their cars a bit of a run out attended this annual event, which is organized by the Mornington Historic Vehicles Club and held at the Karingal Shopping Precinct. If you've never heard of this place before, you soon will do, as it is located where the new Frankston By-pass, which is currently under construction, dives under the Frankston - Cranbourne road. The swap meet is held in part of the huge car park and is quite compact.
The range of goods on offer was quite interesting, and our party ended up buying a few bits and pieces. Several members of the organizing club had brought their classic vehicles along. One of them had a white & light blue 1965 105E Anglia de luxe saloon which hadn't been seen before. It was given the "once over" by us all and found to be very original. Despite much smooth talking, we couldn't interest the owner in joining our club!
Although a nice sunny day, the biting wind made it quite cold and we didn't hang around for long, once we'd looked round the stalls.
STATIC DISPLAY AT CASTLEMAINE,
Sunday, 15th May
 The FORDCA display at Castlemaine |
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 One of the 100E Prefects |
 The 100E Prefect sedan from Lockwood |
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 XL Falcon which attracted quite a bit of interest |
Once again, as part of National Motoring Heritage Day, the Club's Central Goldfields Group held a static display alongside the historic market building in Castlemaine. It was a cold start to the day but the threatening weather held off while the cars were on display. Like last year, it was a very successful day. Many people stopped to have a look at the cars and chat about the memories of when they owned and drove early Small Fords.
We displayed seven vehicles this year: one Castlemaine member brought along four cars from his collection - two "Upright" Prefect sedans; a 100E Prefect sedan his XL Falcon which attracted quite a bit of interest. These were joined by a beautiful A494A Anglia tourer which had been trailered up from Wandong and two more 100E Prefect sedans - a frost green example from Lockwood South and a two-tone brown one owned locally in Castlemaine.
AHMF NATIONAL MOTORING HERITAGE DAY,
Sunday, 15th May
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 The Tim Neville Arboretum, Ferntree Gully, Victoria |
 Prior to departure from the Arboretum |
 FORDCA stand at Yarra Glen |
 Aston Martin at Yarra Glen |
 A beautiful 1949 Jaguar MkV at Yarra Glen |
 Lovely Morris 8 tourer at Yarra Glen |
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 Vintage Drivers' Club display at Yarra Glen |
NMHD is the brainchild of the Australian Heritage Motoring Federation (AHMF), and is promoted as the one day a year when all owners of classic and historic vehicles are encouraged to get out and about in their vehicles to draw the public's attention to our hobby. The Association of Motoring Clubs (AOMC) is a member of the AHMF and indeed they share the same president, Iain Ross. Iain and his team at the AOMC decided that this year we should do something different for NMHD: car clubs would gather at various starting points in the Melbourne metropolitan area and drive in convoy to Yarra Glen Racecourse, where there would be various attractions. Unfortunately, the starting points did not suit us in the Eastern Suburbs, so we decided to have our own convoy starting from the Tim Neville Arboretum in Ferntree Gully.
Over the preceding four days, we had had around 50mm of rain fall in these parts. This and the fact that it was pretty miserable on the morning of this run probably accounts for the fact that only three members and a guest in three Small Fords met up as planned at the arboretum, which was at its autumnal best, with the leaves on the trees varying from dark green to dark brown and various lighter shades in between.
Because of the persistent drizzle, we decided not to hang about for long and set off five minutes before the advertised departure time.
Our little convoy, consisting of a blue 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster; a cream 1953 A493A Prefect sedan and a white and yellow 105E Anglia 2-door saloon, travelled in convoy to Yarra Glen via the most direct route, which is by way of Boronia, Montrose, Lilydale and the Melba Highway. Beyond Coldstream, the paddocks were flooded and there were creeks flowing beneath the trestle bridges on the route of the erstwhile Lilydale to Yarra Glen railway line - a sight not seen for many years.
We had not seen any other historic vehicles en route but on arrival at Yarra Glen racecourse, there were plenty to be seen and we were directed past them and the new grandstand to a parking spot where the annual swap meet stalls are usually to be found. We left a space between us and a group of Cortinas displayed by the Cortina Owners Club. This was duly filled a short time later by two of our members in their green 1952 A493A Prefect coupe utility, who had motored over from Balwyn via Warrandyte.
Soon after we'd parked up, a large convoy of cars arrived, including several Volvos, which parked in a line opposite us. No disrespect to the latter cars, but you can guess who had the most visitors and admirers! After a look round the other cars and buying the odd item from the auto-jumble stalls, we had our picnic lunch and spent a pleasant couple of hours chatting to the public and the Cortina owners next door (including a former FORDCA member).
With dark clouds scurrying overhead and rain threatening all the time, we decided to pack up around 2pm and head for home the way we had come.
Over 300 cars had attended this event which, bearing in mind the poor weather conditions, was considered successful and is to be repeated in 2012.
THE MID-WEEK RUN FOR MELBURNIANS,
Wednesday, 20th April
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 Outside the George Tindale Memorial Gardens |
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This was a local run around the Dandenongs, starting with a cuppa at the Tim Neville Arboretum in Ferntree Gully. Three members took part in a cream 1956 100E Prefect sedan; a beige and black 1960 107E Prefect sedan and a "modern". The member with latter was to leave his car at the arboretum and enjoy a ride in the 107E for most of the day. The weather was not very inspiring as we stood around in the drizzle, although the ducks seemed to be enjoying it! So we had a quick cuppa and then headed for the hills.
A scenic route had been mapped out, so we headed around the back of Ferntree Gully and up the tourist road towards Ferny Creek. We then turned right onto the Belgrave-Ferny Creek Road. This is a very long and steep downhill run to the roundabout in Belgrave, severely testing the brakes on our old cars.
We then took the Monbulk Road to Kallista, and turned left up Sherbrooke Road to the George Tindale Memorial Gardens (almost opposite the "Baron of Beef"). The weather hadn't improved so we rugged up and headed into the wilds (ha! ha!). On a nice day the gardens would have been fantastic, but that wasn't to be, although we were impressed with the variety of plants, particularly the hydrangeas.
Our Run Co-ordinator had planned a picnic at One Tree Hill, but the weather was getting worse, so it was suggested that we find a pub with a nice open fire and have a counter lunch. This was agreed unanimously! By this time the fog was closing in, so we carefully navigated our way up through Olinda and stopped at the Mt Dandenong Hotel. The counter lunch and open fire were great and helped to make it a pleasant, if quite wet, day out.
THE A.O.M.C./R.A.C.V. CLASSIC SHOWCASE, FLEMINGTON
Sunday, 3rd April
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 Our cars at Flemington |
 Armstrong-Siddeley saloon |
 Austin 7 sports car |
 Austins |
 Austin Healey Car Cub stand |
 Fiat sports car |
 1934 Lanchester |
 Pre-war Riley |
 Veteran Rover |
 Singer Car Club stand |
 Skoda car club stand |
Although it remained dull and overcast for most of the day, the main thing was that it stayed dry. Our club was allocated a small area in the back corner of the Members' car park at Flemington Racecourse, up against the railway line.
We had five members participating in three cars: a beige 1935 Model C De Luxe sedan; a blue 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster; and a light blue 1956 100E Prefect de luxe sedan. There were over 1,000 cars on display but most were post-1960 classics and exotica.
Despite our location, we still had plenty of visitors looking at our cars and one in particular made our day when he remarked "It's nice to see some REAL cars for a change!"
BALLAN VINTAGE MACHINERY SHOW,
Sunday, 20th February 2011
 SeeC the Model C sedan is in good company at the Ballan Show |
 SeeC at Ballan Show |
Our Club was represented at this show by a pair of members from Geelong, who took along their rare 1935 Model C De Luxe sedan, which they call "SeeC".
The weather on the day was quite mixed: it could be quite wet and cold one minute, and sunny and warm the next. They were glad to be parked close to some large trees where they could shelter from the rain.
The show was very enjoyable, with plenty to see, and they will no doubt be there again next year!
THE MID-WEEK RUN TO WILLIAMSTOWN & POINT COOK
Wednesday, 9th February 2011
 Gathering outside the Scienceworks Museum |
 Morning Coffee at Williamstown |
 Our leaders'100E Prefect sedan by the Timeball Tower |
 107E Prefect sedan and Timeball Tower at Williamstown |
 View of Melbourne CBD from Battery Road, Williamstown |
 Vintage aircraft at RAAF Williams-Point Cook museum |
Six members and five guests in five classics and a two "moderns" rendezvoused in the car park of Scienceworks Museum in Spotswood before proceeding to have a quick look round the museum. The classics were an A493A Prefect coupe ute; a 100E Prefect de luxe sedan; a 107E Prefect sedan; a Holden FX sedan and an Austin A35 sedan.
From there we took the scenic bay-side road to the centre of Williamstown where we stopped for morning coffee, before driving to our next stop on Battery Road, close to the fascinating Timeball Tower. The story goes that the ball at the top of the tower was raised and dropped at precisely 1pm every day, so that the captains of ships in the bay to synchronize their chronometers.
Our guest with the ute left us at this stage and the remainder of us proceeded to follow bay-side roads as much as possible, past Kooringal Golf Club, which was still quite waterlogged after recent heavy rains, to Point Cook, where we had a great value-for-money lunch at The Brook on Sneydes Road.
After lunch, we drove through new suburbs and market gardens to the RAAF base of Williams-Point Cook, where we were given a guided tour of the aircraft museum and were able to view progress on a WWII De Havilland Mosquito in the workshop.
We were all invited back to the run coordinators' house in Hoppers Crossing for afternoon tea, but those of us from the eastern suburbs were wary of the time and had to decline the kind offer for fear of being caught in the evening crush. As it happens, those of us who had to cross the West Gate Bridge to get home had a reasonably good run home after a very enjoyable day.
SMALL FORD SUNDAY, BUNDOORA PARK
6th February 2011
 The Anglia-Prefect class at Small ford Sunday |
 FORDCA members' cars |
 An interesting study of rear ends! |
 FORDCA member's early 100E Anglia |
 FORDCA member's souped-up 105E Anglia |
 Rare 105E Anglia estate car |
 A pair of early MkI Cortinas |
 A bevy of sporty Escort MkIIs |
 Mk2 Zephyr sedan |
This is the annual show for English and European small Fords, and our club represents the "first generation" of these cars. We managed to muster 8 cars ranging from a rare 1935 Model C De Luxe sedan to a brace of 1960s 105E Anglias.
One couple brought along a black, unrestored A493A Prefect sedan, with the intention of trying to sell it at the show, but ended up walking off with the "Old Fords Never Die" trophy! The owners of the Model C collected their first ever award for being runners-up in the Anglia-Prefect Class, which was won by a well-known blue 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster, whose owner also, rather surprisingly, picked up an award for the best "Real Restoration", even though it was 5 years since he restored the car!
The weather on this day was a mixture of sunshine, showers, downpours and breezes. It was warm enough to give everyone "wind burn" again, but a heavy shower around lunchtime sent everyone scurrying back to their cars, because there are very few places to shelter in Bundoora Park.
There was the usual colourful mix of post-1960 cars from other Ford car clubs, and Ford racing idol Allan Moffat was there to present the prizes.
Our thanks to the Ford Rally Sport Owners Club of Victoria for organizing this show and inviting us along to it.
THE FEDERATION VEHICLE DISPLAY,
KING'S DOMAIN GARDENS, MELBOURNE
Australia Day, Wednesday, 26th January 2011
 Two Model CX's at the Chadstone start |
 A non-member 105E Anglia de luxe saloon seen at the Chadstone Start |
 Our cars were parked opposite the RACV's hospitality marquee inthe Gardens |
 Behind us were cars from the Model T Ford Club |
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 The other members' ute was parked elsewhere in the Gardens |
"OTHER CARS SEEN AT THE
FEDERATION VEHICLE DISPLAY"
 1926 Ajax tourer |
 Display of Chevrolets on Avenue in the Kings Domain |
 1934 Ford V8 Model 40 |
 1928 Graham Paige 614 sedan |
 1946 MG TC |
 1950 MG Y Type |
Six members attended this event in four club cars. Three cars (a 1936 Model CX De Luxe sedan; a 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster and a 1956 100E Prefect de luxe sedan) rendezvoused at the Chadstone start and travelled in convoy to the King's Domain Gardens, in the centre of Melbourne. We were supposed to meet up with the fourth car (a green A493A Prefect ute) here but they had come in via a different route and consequently ended up in a different area of the Gardens.
In the March 2011 edition of Royal Auto, the monthly house magazine of the RACV (sponsors of the event), it was estimated that 88,000 people had visited the Gardens that day to see the display, which was limited to 500 vehicles. Members were kept busy answering questions from Joe Public, and thousands of pictures were taken of our cars.
Early morning drizzle soon cleared but it remained overcast for most of the day. Still, that didn't prevent participants from becoming "wind burnt"! Thankfully, the clouds were high enough to allow the RAAF to proceed with their aerobatic display at lunch time.
As usual, there was a very varied mix of veteran, vintage and classic vehicles on display. There were special displays of Chevrolets, Hupmobiles and Singers.
THE MID-WEEK RUN FOR MELBURNIANS,
Wednesday, 19th January.
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 Enjoying Morning coffee at Wattle Park. |
We have switched our mid-week runs back to a Wednesday by popular request. This run was a bit of an experiment as we have not previously tried one in January, when the kids are still off school. Although there seemed to be a reasonable amount of support for it when enquiries were made before Christmas, on the day we had only three members and a guest turn up in two cars. A shame - because our Run Co-ordinator had put a lot of effort into the run and had arranged an interesting itinerary.
We arranged to meet at the Chalet car park in Wattle Park, but it was being used for a big corporate hospitality event and we had to use another car park a short distance away. We found a picnic table near to one of the tram bodies that the park is famous for and caught up with each other over a cuppa. Afterwards, we explored the interior of that tram body before having a walk round the west end of the park, to see if we could find a fountain that two of our party used to play in when they were kids. We found it all right - or should I say the remains of it! There was the usual modern Health & Safety-type fence round what had been the circular base of the fountain (which still held a lot of water, with ducks swimming freely on it), but there was now a large tree growing in the middle of what had been the water spout!
We returned to our cars and set off for Jells Park. We proceeded to take a route eastwards down Riversdale Road; Eley Road; Hawthorn Road and Terrara Road to the Burwood Highway, in the process passing through some beautiful suburbs and a big TV studio. One couldn't fail to notice the absence of graffiti on the beautifully-tended fences and walls round all the properties we had passed! After passing under Eastlink, we turned right onto Cathies Lane and then right into High Street Road, which we followed as far as Gallaghers Road, which gave us access to Waverley Road and then Jells Park. The route had certainly introduced the writer to some lovely backwaters never seen before.
We had lunch at the cafe in the park and then called it a day.
THE FESTIVE SEASON PICNIC, JELLS PARK, WHEELERS HILL.
Wednesday, 29th December 2010.
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Four oldies waiting in the shade at Jells Park. |
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 An enjoyable picnic lunch under an Oak Tree. |
It was that time of year again - the quiet time between Christmas and New Year, and we had organized a combined gathering for FORDCA members as well as members of The Australian Y & C Syndicate. The meeting time was 11a.m. at Jells Park, entering from Ferntree Gully Road.
The turnout was a bit disappointing compared to the previous year, with 10 members and a child arriving in 4 "oldies" and a "modern", but we still had a very pleasant and relaxing time in the shade of the elm trees. The tree that we chose to sit under was inhabited by a sleepy possum and was being occasionally harassed by a worrisome magpie lark (typical).
By mid-afternoon, most had packed up and headed home to "wind down" after our last run for the year, but some stayed behind and attempted to have a walk round the lake in the park, but they were thwarted when they got halfway round and discovered that the remainder was fenced off, pending repairs to storm damage, so had to return the way they went.
THE CHRISTMAS BREAK-UP AT MARANOA GARDENS, BALWYN.
Sunday, 12th December 2010.
 Lunch and chats began outside |
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 Chased inside by a summer shower!!! |
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 A knowledgeable tour of the Gardens |
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 Line-up outside Maranoa Gardens |
It would seem that every time we arrange a Christmas run lately, the weather man wants to have his say...
The club's Christmas break-up was planned as a nice, relaxing day, with plenty of sitting about and catching up, with a guided tour laid on for anyone interested in some of the high points of this rather nice inner city garden.
We had just got our chairs out and settled down when, you guessed it! - the rain started. Just a sprinkle at first, then it was a matter of grab your gear and make a run for the sheltered area that had been set aside for us.
Never let it be said that rain ruined the day! The room was a little bit cramped for the 23 members and two guests who were there, but the company was good and the rain was kept out.
After we had partaken of our BYO lunch (and savoured some of the "goodies" many people had brought along to share), the sun made a late and somewhat weak appearance. Most of us gathered around our guide for a most informative tour of the garden. The gardens are really very nice, and well worth the time to stop and smell the native plants. But as we were finishing the tour, the rain man reckoned it was just about time to water the gardens again, so we packed up and left him to it!
THE H.C.V.C COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DISPLAY DAY, SANDOWN RACECOURSE.
Sunday, 28th November 2010.
 Part of our display at Sandown Racecourse |
 The 1939 E93A Prefect coupe utility, one of only two known to exist. |
 Rear view of rare Prefect ute reveals bullet holes |
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 Unrestored Ten-Ten panel van at Sandown |
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Although the week previous to this event had been very wet, we had a mainly dry but overcast day for the show and entries "on the other side of the fence" (in the main display area) seemed to be up on last year.
We had 10 Small Ford commercials in our display this time (slightly down on 2009) - 6 owned by F.O.R.D.C.A. members and 4 owned by guests. They came from places as far apart as Bendigo, Dandenong, Geelong, Rosebud and Wandong.
Making its debut this year was an ultra-rare 1939 E93A Prefect coupe ute, which had been rescued from a paddock near Mildura earlier in the year and was presented in "as found" condition, complete with bullet holes in the rear of the cab! It attracted a lot of attention.
Also making its debut was a "Ten-Ten" 10cwt panel van which, despite its red and black colour scheme, was never a PMG vehicle.
Once again a sausage sizzle was laid on for our members and guests and a great day was had by all.
WEEKDAY RUN TO THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA,
Monday, 15th November 2010
 Our cars outside Charlie's Museum at Arthur's Seat |
 The Anglia tourer that had joined us near Dromana |
 Morning coffee outside Charlie's Museum |
 BBQ time for some at Arthur's Seat |
 Picnic time for others at Arthur's Seat |
 Cars at Arthur's Seat reserve |
 Our party at Arthur's Seat |
 Safety Beach from the top of Arthur's Seat |
 Gathering outside the Gordon Glassblowing Studio, Red Hill |
We set off from The Manhattan Hotel in Ringwood and, because of the distance we had to travel and the route we were to take (Eastlink) to get to our first port of call (the foot of Arthur's Seat, near Dromana), the seven participants from the eastern suburbs opted to use their faster cars, so we had our two Run Co-ordinators in their FX Holden, followed by a member in his blue Riley roadster, then another couple in a Humber Super Snipe, with the third couple in their "modern" bringing up the rear. At the foot of Arthur's Seat, we picked up a local couple in their beautifully restored A494A Anglia tourer.
It was a slow drive up to the top of Arthur's Seat but the views of the magical blue sea made the experience well worthwhile. Our morning tea stop was at the front of Charlie's Auto Museum at Arthur's Seat which had tables and chairs and gave everyone the chance to share their goodies.
Everyone was personally greeted by Charlie who, with his manager, had personally opened the museum just for us. He had cars rarely seen in museums plus motorbikes; an English invalid car; Model T Landaulet; the old bottle truck owned by his father's business; pedal cars; a pianola; an old wood stove and a box of blue bags to name just a few things. It seems Charlie buys whatever takes his fancy and then his manager David has to find space for it! The museum represents 30 years of collecting. The model room featuring ocean liners and aircraft made by a local man made fascinating conversation pieces among both the boys and girls.
After leaving Charlie's we drove a short distance back to the top of Arthur's Seat where some had a barbecue lunch, others bought a picnic and others walked to the restaurant to buy their lunch. By this stage the threatening weather had turned grey and while we could see the bay and bright yellow sands, the blue waters of the morning had turned a darker shade of grey.
Our next stop after a drive across the ridge line to Red Hill was at Gordon Studio Glassblowing, where we watched highly skilled glass blowers transforming plain old glass into wonderfully coloured objects such as vases and penguins. Whilst most the items for sale were out of our price range, just to learn about glassblowing and the studio's speciality of glass engraving was worth the visit. The tourer and its occupants left us at Gordon Studio.
One of Run Co-ordinators decided that no visit to the peninsular was complete without a walk along the beach. To get a little sand on our shoes, we stopped at Safety Beach. We strolled along the beach and out onto the small jetty. It is amazing what flotsam and jetsam you can find just walking along a beach!
Our final stop of the day was a coffee shop on The Esplanade at Mt Martha. The sign on the front said they specialized in vanilla slices so most of us ordered one and were given the biggest vanilla slice any of us had ever seen - it was almost a meal on its own! After relaxing for half an hour it was time to bid farewell and everyone set off for home.
Good companionship, good scenery, interesting things to see and good weather all combined to make the run a great success.
THE WALLACE GARDENS OPEN DAY, COLDSTREAM
Saturday, 6TH November 2010
 The former Killara railway station on the Warburton |
 The refreshment stop at Killara railway station |
 Cars in Wallace Gardens car park |
 Enjoying lunch in the Wallace Gardens |
 A view of part of the Wallace Gardens |
 A water feature in the Wallace Gardens |
Five club members and 8 guests met a Lillydale Lake in four "oldies" and two "moderns". The "oldies" were a blue 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster; an olive green A493A Prefect coupe ute; a cream 100E Prefect sedan and a beige 100E Anglia sedan.
Around 10:30am we set off up the hill to Mt Evelyn and after travelling for a short distance along the C404, turned left into Hunter Road. We then traversed undulating country lanes, driving up hill and down dale, past orchards, wineries and market gardens and eventually joined the Warburton Highway at Seville. We headed a short distance towards Warburton and once we had breasted the climb out of Seville, we turned left in to Sunnyside Road, to pass the Killara Winery which we had visited on the very first mid-week run back in February this year. The changes to this place since we were there were unbelievable! Instead of being a muddy mess, the car park was now beautifully landscaped and sealed!
About 1km further on, we turned right into Kylie Lane to access the old Killara railway station, a picnic area on the Warburton Trail, which utilizes the old railway trackbed. No sooner had we settled down to enjoy our morning tea or coffee, than we were greeted by several kookaburras, who laughed away for several minutes. Some crimson rosellas and king parrots were also spotted nearby in this very peaceful location, which I doubt if many Melburnians are aware of, unless they have walked or cycled the Warburton Trail.
We retraced our steps to Sunnyside Road, which changed its name to Killara Road, and continued via Medhurst Road to reach Maddens Lane and the Wallace Gardens. After parking our cars in a line against a fence, we carried our portable seats into the gardens and then joined the short queue to get our gourmet pizza. It was easy to tell who had not had a pizza cooked this way before - we tended to pile up the pizza base with too much "filling", with the consequence we risked them not being cooked through in the special oven! The pizza was swilled down with a nice glass of red or white wine and followed by a plate full of desserts of different types. We certainly couldn't complain about the food!
Afterwards, we wandered round the beautiful gardens created single-handedly by Christine Wallace, which are perhaps best known for their roses and irises, before heading our separate ways home.
THE PICNIC AT MUCKLEFORD STATION,
CASTLEMAINE & MALDON RAILWAY
Saturday, 23rd October 2010
 Part of our club display at Muckleford |
 The beautiful Anglia tourer that had come down from Pyramid Hill |
F.O.R.D.C.A. has several members living in the Central Goldfields Area, which covers the area to the west and south west of Bendigo, and includes Lockwood South, Castlemaine and Newstead. They are encouraged to have their own runs as Melbourne is just too far to travel from there and back in a day in our type of "oldies".
In October they had a run to the annual Picnic at Muckleford, and it is described for us by our Regional Representative.
The day was not looking good first thing as they had heavy rain the night before, but it stopped early in the morning and it turned into a beautiful, fine, spring day.
We had five vehicles on display from our Central Goldfields Area, which was a good showing from our club. The cars were a light blue 1949 A493A Prefect sedan; a dark green 1950 A493A Prefect coupe ute; a cream 1950 A494A Anglia tourer; a 1954 100E Prefect sedan and a Ford XL Falcon sedan. The tourer had been driven all the way from Pyramid Hill, two hours away - a splendid effort!
Throughout the day our vehicles received quite a lot of attention, which was nice to see. I think overall there were approximately 80 to 100 vehicles there and we spent most of the day looking at them all.
The day itself was most enjoyable with a lot of other activities for everyone, such as steam train rides; music; arts and crafts; and food and wine tasting. I am grateful to all who turned up and made this day such a great success.
"RUBY" MAKES TWO TRIPS TO THE MAFFRA SHED IN A WEEK
Wednesday, 20th October and Sunday, 24th October 2010
 Cars and U3A members at Maffra Shed |
 U3A Group at Maffra Shed |
 'Ruby' and her owner at Maffra Picnic on 24th |
 Veteran Chevrolet at the Maffra |
 Vintage cars at Maffra Picnic |
Whilst most F.O.R.D.C.A. members live in Greater Melbourne, we have other members spread all round Victoria who go out in their cars with members of other, more local, clubs they belong to. In October 2010, a member living in Bairnsdale, 375kms east of Melbourne, took his maroon 1936 Model CX De Luxe sedan which he calls "Ruby", to the famous Maffra Shed twice in a week. On the first occasion, the East Gippsland Historical Automobile Club (EGHAC) took a group of people from U3A in Bairnsdale to the Shed. There is an excellent display of cars, trucks, motor bikes and memorabilia there. It was a beautiful day.
Four days later our member was back at The Shed with the EGHAC, this time for the Federation Picnic at Maffra, sponsored by the Federation of Veteran, Vintage & Classic Vehicle Clubs and hosted by the Gippsland Vehicle Collection. There were over 200 vehicles visiting for the day, including a party from the Touring Register of the MG Car Club. Also present were demonstrations of wood turning and lace making, the latter using cotton and about 50 sticks!
Again the weather was beautiful and there was a lot of talk and comparisons of cars amongst the participants.
THE "BY REQUEST" WEEKDAY RUN FOR MELBURNIANS
Monday, 11th October 2010
 Rendezvousing at the Montrose Reserve |
 Cars at the National Rhododendron Centre, Olinda |
 A view of part of the NRC gardens at Olinda |
 An example of what we'd come to see |
 Full compliment of oldies at Healesville RSL |
 Cars at Maroondah Dam car park |
 Spillway at Maroondah Dam |
 Maroondah Dam full for the first time in many years! |
 Members admiring the spillway from the top of the dam |
The name for this run came about because the Run Co-ordinator acceded to a request from a member to visit the National Rhododendron Gardens ("N.R.G.") at Olinda, which are believed to be at their most beautiful at this time of year. We were not to be disappointed: they were fabulous, and the fact that we had a gorgeous spring day made it even better!
A new starting point was chosen for this run - Montrose Recreational Reserve, just off Mt Dandenong Tourist Road in Montrose - and steps were taken to ensure that participants didn't miss the turn-off into the reserve! Seven members and two guests gathered here in a "modern" and four "oldies". A black 1936 Model CX De Luxe sedan, returning to the road after a protracted re-restoration, and a slightly modified, light blue 1954 300E Thames panel van, were making their debut on a club run. Making up the numbers were a cream 1956 100E Prefect sedan; a blue 1936 Model CX De Luxe roadster and an "alternative, almost classic" Holden ute.
Just after 9:30am we departed from the reserve and headed up the mountain towards Kalorama and Olinda. The CX sedan was a bit sluggish and "pinging" but its owner/driver must have sorted this out (probably by retarding the distributor a little) as, by the end of the day, it was flying along!
On arrival at the N.R.G., we had plenty of time before our pre-booked 25-minute bus ride round the gardens, so we all headed for the tea rooms and ordered scones and either tea or coffee. The only trouble was, they hadn't had any milk delivered that morning, and some of us had to order alternative drinks. Whilst we were waiting for the freshly-warmed scones to arrive, the milk order arrived and caused some disarray!
The guided bus tour round the gardens was very enjoyable and informative. I should explain here that the gardens are laid out on a very steep, north-facing slope of the Dandenongs and you have to be quite fit to walk down to the bottom and back again! So the bus tour takes the pain out of this for the likes of us "seniors"! Afterwards, we had about 45 minutes to do as we wished (most of us went halfway round the gardens again!) before departing in convoy for Healesville via a very scenic route that took us through Monbulk, Silvan (past the famous tulip fields), Mt Evelyn, Wandin, Gruyere and Coldstream.
We had lunch at the Healesville RSL Club, where we were joined by two more members in their 1952 Holden FX sedan and a guest in a light grey 105E Anglia 2-door saloon. So we finished up having 9 members and 3 guests in 6 "oldies" and a "modern" on this run, which must have pleased the Run Co-ordinator, who had put a lot of effort into it.
After lunch, most of us carried on up the Maroondah Highway to Maroondah Dam, where we were to witness the spectacular waterfall (alias the spillway) that is normally non-existent before climbing up to the top of the dam to see the reservoir full for the first time in almost a decade. Just as we got to the top, a member (who shall remain nameless!) decided to emulate Humpty Dumpty and had a great fall, but apart from being a little shaken, was thankfully unharmed.
Some finished the day by making the traditional call at the Beechworth Bakery in Healesville for afternoon tea, others headed directly for home, after what had been a truly memorable day.
