January in Australia

[HarryJ]

I have been considering fleeing the blizzards here in Atlanta and spending some time in a warm clime. A friend of mine suggested Australia for a destination. From what he said................Australia has a serious car collector/restorer contingent. The question is............if I go down there what should I look for/expect?

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

A place to stay permanetly??

Ben

[Manuel]

Lots of rain in some places. But the rest of the country is having a mild summer of far.

Some states have day light saving as well.

regards,

Manuel in Oz

[Ozstatman]

...........The question is............if I go down there what should I look for/expect?

G'day Harry,

If your question is skewed towards the hobby I'd suggest you contact Club/s here which cater to the make/s of car/s you are interested in. This link could help find the one's you're interested in - Classic Car Clubs - Australian Car Enthusiasts - Shannons

Concerning collections and museums, these are spread out around the country and one I visited recently is the National Motor Museum in the Adelaide hills which I'd recommend a visit to. See this link - National Motor Museum

I'm from Sydney, 800+miles from Adelaide, and we aren't as well served here for car specific museums but the Powerhouse Museum at Castle Hill has a small vehicle collection and a restoration department - The Powerhouse Discovery Centre: Collection Stores at Castle Hill

[danhar1960]

G'Day Mal,

Well blow me down neighbour !! I didn't know there was a Powerhouse museum in Castle Hill.

The one in town is great so I'll have to take the kids and go have a look see.

The things you learn on this forum about your own backyard :) .

Anyone contemplating coming at the moment should consider bringing their flippers.

Danny

[Ozstatman]

G'day Danny,

Yes, drove past the site for many years not knowing what it was, it's one of Sydney's best kept secrets. Castle Hill has limited opening hours because it is mainly a repository and restoration centre. Best you check with them before you head out there, although during school holidays I think it is more accessible. Also has guided "behind the scenes" tours but these are very limited as they are on a first come, first served basis. I'll actually be there, in my '41 Packard Coupe, Tuesday 1st Feb on an OASIS club run. If you can make it, bring the '39 8/40, it's a good day out with friendly car people, see this link - Coming Events

And a link to a Picasa album of pic's from The Packard Clubs visit there in 2008 - http://picasaweb.google.com/ozstatman/PackardRunSaturday8thMarch2008#

Edited December 28, 2010 by Ozstatman
Added links re CMC events & PACA visit to Powerhouse Museum (see edit history)

[Guest clare30]

G'day, Harry

Who long were you thinking of staying in Australia? There is a lot to see over here. Australia Day is a busy day 26th Jan in Sydney with the NRMA MOTORFEST. Not as much vintage as pevious years but still a good roll up. The weather is good coastal whowever some inland flooding at the moment. We have visited your country 3 times in recent years Maine, New England, Monterey for the week leading to Pebble Beach 2009 and San Fransico 2007 and had a great time. There is plenty to see and plenty of km's (miles) to cover.

Cheers

Clare 30.

[Ivan Saxton]

You should come if you have a mind to Harry. If you let us know what your specific interests are it would be easier to direct you on to people with similar interests. We are not all under water, but it should have run off by the time you get here. You are certainly welcome to visit here if you wish. You need an elastic memory to file all you might see and learn about. If you happened to like very modern used cars of the 1950's, there are a pair of good Studebakers a year apart that belonged to a friend near here recently departed, unfortunately, that are definitely on the market reasonably. If you like steam on rails there is the 2ft 6" gauge Puffing Billy that runs daily services with restored original rolling stock on the original line. There are plenty of people with good cars that you would not see elsewhere. The big cities are only a little bit of Australia, and interesting antique car people are well spread. One of my Napier friends in central Queensland has daughter an son-in-law out in Longreach area where his family was for several generations. When you have introductions to locals in a range of areas you will know the country better.

[HarryJ]

What can I say..................This is getting VERY interesting! And you speak English! I'm going to check out flights and room rates. G'day and Thank You!

[Ozstatman]

Harry,

If you're in Sydney during January come and visit us at Wade's Workshop. Send me an email - ozstatman(at sign)gmail.com and we can work out the details. Besides English we talk "Packard" and "Old Cars" fluently as well as "Strine".

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Bertie the bunyip was a cartoon character in the 50s. I never met anybody who knew what that was. Hey, Manny; what's the meaning of this"OZ" I keep hearing about in relation to Australia? Is it "Old Zealand"?

[Ozstatman]

........what's the meaning of this"OZ" I keep hearing about in relation to Australia? Is it "Old Zealand"?

Very inventive the way you made a connection between Australia and New Zealand but unfortunately the answer to that is no. Oz or Ozzie is just a bastardisation of Aus or Aussie. Nothing to do with Dorothy or the Yellow Brick Road, although the term "Wizard of Oz" is sometimes applied to a person and then usually in connection with a sporting achievement. Edited December 30, 2010 by Ozstatman (see edit history)

[50jetback]

Don't do it Harry - you wouldn't like it.

http://www.westernaustralia.com/au/Pages/Welcome_to_Western_Australia.aspx

Most tourists by pass the western third ( the state of Western Australia ) - Perth, the capital of W.A. is the remotest capital city in the civilized world but we have all the usual tourist things - and no snow - ever!

[Manuel]

As Mal said for me; it is just a strine version of the word Australia!

Manuel in Oz

[Marty Roth]

Among the nicest people we've ever met:

I cannot remember their names, but believe they were into vintage Mercedes-Benz. They operated the "Everything Australian" shop at the 1984 New orleans Worlds Fair. I bought Dale a lot of turquoise jewelry from them. Trimacar also indulged his bride there.

[trimacar]

Good memory, Marty, yes, loved the Australia exhibit and the wonderful accents. What a great time at the fair! Bought my soon-to-be bride a beautiful Australian opal, interesting story, had it set by a friend who was supposed to be skilled, he broke it....then, through a girl working for me, found a professor at LSU - Alexandria who was an amateur gemologist, he polished the triangulare large broken piece, set it with emeralds, used the piece left over to make earrings.

Now she has a very unique pendant, with matching earrings. A happy accident.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Sorry to hear about the flooding in Queensland. I should ask one of our New Zealand friends, was there an Old Zealand?

[Marty Roth]

David,

Thanks for the correction -- it was OPALS that I bought for Dale -- they were among all of her jewelry which was stolen from our home after Hurricane Katrina

[1939_Buick]

...I should ask one of our New Zealand friends, was there an Old Zealand?

Yes. The Pacific nation of New Zealand is named after Zeeland. Zeeland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In 1642 the Dutch sailor Abel Tasman was the first European to land in NZ Abel Tasman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Edited January 1, 2011 by 1939_buick (see edit history)