RECENT ADVENTURES

RECENT ADVENTURES

LAST UPDATED 13 - 10 - 09

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Third outing for the South Australian Chapter of the HCVC of Australia Inc.

20th of September saw a gathering of the newly formed South Australian Chapter of the Historic Commercial Vehicle Club on the Jubilee wharf in Port Adelaide. Although a small turnout, there was a nice variety of well presented vehicles on display with some members traveling from afar. First to arrive that morning was Robert Jenke from Kapunda with his magnificently restored 1950 WC18 White Super Power pulling an equally magnificent model #13074 Freighter trailer. Next on the scene was B.L.B. Redden in his 1936 Ford V8. The unique tones of a TS3 heralded the arrival of David Kent in his 1956 QX Commer from Pt Pirie. Not to be out done in the musical exhaust note stakes was Bruce Gower in his 1973 Detroit powered KM Bedford. Trevor Kelly's arrival was a little quieter in his 1974 Hemi 245 powered Dodge DN500 tray top. All the way from Mt Gambier was the tidy 1949 Morris Commercial of D&C Austin. Dwarfing everything in sight was Murray Langford's 1969 12V71 GM powered W924 extended bonnet Kenworth when it took its place in the line up. Representing the smaller class of commercials was a nicely restored 1957 Vauxhall Velox. I think it was a successful day for the chapter as the weather was reasonable and there were plenty of sight- seers around to check out the display.

One week later and it was time for the annual Bay to Birdwood Classic and while approximately 1700 vehicles took part in the run from the seaside to the Birdwood Motor Museum in the Adelaide Hills, only a handful of commercials turned up for the event. Aided by an early morning overcast sky I did manage a few shots as the vehicles arrived at the assembly area at West Beach. Included in the starters were Murray Langford's W-924, Kyle Lill's 1972 J5 Bedford, Lawrie Martin's 1957 Morris Minor 1000 and Leigh Ragless with his 1961 AA151 International fire appliance. Also waiting for the start were a ex-army 1958 series 2 1/4 tonne Land Rover plus a 1958 series I . The Royal Automobile Association colours were carried by a 1953 Austin A40 and a 1959 Ford Thames 100E. The Jim Crawford collection was led by a 1972 G88 followed by 1972 F86 and a 1974 G88 with a 1961 CBWE815 Commer bringing up the rear. Others taking part were Rob Ely with his 1963 P500D Diamond T, RL & HJ Bartlett's 1961 AA160 International and a1967 Dodge belonging to the Sir Thomas Playford E.T.S.A. Museum.

After taking a quick snap of a late arriving Diamond T, I headed for a vantage point up on the Anzac Highway that hopefully wouldn't be too crowded with spectators. Some of the vehicles taking part which I had missed earlier were RGR-675 John Heward's 1970 J3, RWC-769 Kim Smith's 1960 AA120 and SB-35-BM a 1977 F86.

Two days later I headed north for the Paskeville Field Days Which were situated 4Kms out from the small township Paskeville approximately 150Kms north of Adelaide. I arrived early and was quite surprised by the size of the venue and the amount of traffic filling the car parks. As it was my first time at this event I didn't quite know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of machinery on display. Of course I was there for the trucks and as they were scattered in various locations, I had to walk every avenue to seek them out. The first truck I came across was Adrian Harry's 1967 F600 which he uses in his trail bike show. It is an ex-Lobethal farm truck and has had the 6cyl engine replaced by a 351 Cleveland.