The Bundaberg Vintage Vehicle Club celebrated its 45th anniversary this month, with members gathering to reminisce on the many great moments and achievements of the past four decades.
The club has a strong connection with the local community, from hosting a range of events including car shows, through to their work in the restoration of Bert Hinkler’s Armstrong Siddeley.
Between the group's 185 current members they own 200 vintage vehicles, with the most unique being Chris Sorenson‘s 1903 Grout steam car which has won the prestigious London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Bundaberg Vintage Vehicle Club President Ian Jefferyes, who joined the club in 2004, said the club started from humble beginnings with an ad in the paper.
“The club started on 21 January 1976 with six people,” he said.
“We celebrated 45 years last weekend with two of the members having been part of the club since day one, they were given awards for their time with the club.”
Ian said the club had hosted many events in the region over its 45-year history, including the cane field classic and car shows.
“Back in 1977 the club started to host the cane field classic every two years which saw people come from all over the place,” Ian said.
“Most recently we held our car show at the Recreational Precinct on Saturday 15 May and we raised $4000 for Rotary House through the gate.
“Each year we see our car show continue to attract more and more people which is fantastic.”
During his time in the club, Ian said members had worked on a major restoration project of the Hinkler Armstrong Siddeley.
He said the monumental task was a huge highlight for members and had been a great bonding project.
“The restoration of the Armstrong Siddeley was beneficial in a lot of ways,” he said.
“It bought the club people who were involved a lot closer together as we all bought different skills and learnt from each other how to do different things.”
While there was a lot to learn during the process, Ian said people who were once just members of a club soon came to be great friends.
“When you do this sort of project, you become more than just a member of a club who meet once a month as acquaintances,” he said.
“Instead, you become friends, so there was a lot more even just in the social aspect of it.
“We now have the club house where we can come and meet to talk to other members who have different experience in the industry.”
The clubhouse has been a place for members to congregate for the past five years, with the construction of the building also a contributing factor in their strong friendships.
“The members were very involved in finishing the clubhouse off,” he said.
“We had to pull all the paint off and put it in and working on this again bought us all a lot closer together.”
The Bundaberg Vintage Vehicle Club will have cars on display at the upcoming Living Well Health and Wellbeing Expo.
Other stories: Bundaberg hosts Living Well Health & Wellbeing Expo
