AUSTIN’S OVER AUSTRALIA – WODONGA held 7th to 11th September
On Tuesday 6th of September, Leta and I met our friends John and Jill from Adelaide, and Malcolm and Kathleen at Paringa, and left at 8.30am, travelling to Gol Gol for morning tea. After this, Malcolm and Kathleen left us to stay in Mildura while John and Jill, and Leta and I travelled on to Swan Hill where we stayed Tuesday night.
We left Swan Hill around 8.40am Wednesday and travelled on to Wodonga, arriving around 3.00pm at the Rally headquarters at the old railway station Goods Shed, registered, and collected our rally pack, then found our accommodation at the Twin City Motor Inn.
At 6.00pm it was back to the Goods Shed for pre-dinner drinks and then we enjoyed the evening meal.
Thursday morning, we met at the Goods Shed for the briefing of the day’s events and handing out of prizes to rally participants whose number was drawn out of the hat. We then left for Beechworth where we enjoyed morning tea at the Beechworth Bakery.
After morning tea, we spent some time looking around the shops, then went on the Gorge scenic drive. On our way back to Wodonga we stopped and had a look around Yackandandah. It was an extremely wet and cold day, so we spent the rest of it at our accommodation.
The next day being Friday, we again met at the Goods Shed for the day’s briefing.
We were divided into two groups, one group going to Bonegilla Migrant Museum and the other group to the Military Museum.
We were in the first group who went to Bonegilla, then both groups had lunch there, after which our group went to the Military Museum and the second group looked around Bonegilla.
Both places were very interesting. We returned to our accommodation late afternoon.
Once again, on Saturday met at the Goods Shed for the day’s briefing, then left as a group at 9-30am to travel to Jindera where we went to the Pioneer Museum situated in a store and house owned by one of the early pioneers of the district.
An excellent display of early household items and an extensive collection of farm machinery and implements and the original 1872 Blacksmith and Wheelwright shop.
Full catering was provided on site by the local Lions Club and the CWA ladies. A most interesting place to visit. We left later in the afternoon, visiting the Hume Dam on our way back to Wodonga. Plenty of water still to come our way!
Later we bought tea and returned to our motel. An excellent day!
Sunday, we arrived at the Gateway Island Park around 10.00am where we were directed to park our vehicles in the year groups for Show and Shine and judging.
The weather was perfect for the day and many of the public came to view the excellent display and variety of Austin vehicles. The adjacent gallery was opened for the occasion and full catering was available on site. Another excellent day! We left late afternoon and went back to our accommodation to get ready to attend the farewell dinner.
The money raised during the rally went toward Prostate Cancer Research. Frank from Wandin Victoria, who has had a beard for as long as people could remember, had it shaved off during the farewell dinner, which raised over $800.
A separate raffle for a quilt raised over $1000. These amounts along with other monies raised during the rally, made for an excellent amount being raised for Prostate Cancer Research.
There were 81 entries in the rally, and it was great to catch up with people we met at the previous Austin’s Over Australia rally which we attended in the Barossa Valley.
Monday morning, we left for home, arriving on Tuesday afternoon after a most enjoyable rally. Leta and I travelled in our A40 Somerset, had an excellent run, and travelled a total of 1,171 miles.
John and Jill travelled in their 1960 model A99 Westminster, their first long run in it since obtaining it a couple of years ago, after it being parked for 45 years in a shed in Burra. They were really pleased with how it performed.
We are looking forward to the next Austin’s Over Australia rally to be held in Orange NSW in March 2024.
Ron
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