In what was seen by many as a tentative step back towards normality, our Breakfast Club returned to Warragul after a ten-month hiatus. The weather forecast was perfect and a huge turnout was expected. Cars began arriving at the venue soon after 7am and by the nominated start time of 8am, the southern section of the car park was already full – by 8:30 an estimated 100 special vehicles were packed in to the Woolies car park.
As usual there was a broad spectrum of special interest vehicles on display, American iron, high performance European marques, convertibles, vintage and veteran, Pommy sports cars, beach buggies and Australian classics. Amongst the regulars that had been sitting out the Covid pandemic were a few new arrivals. Ross McConnell brought along his immaculate 1963 Bolwell Mk.4. It was the little sports car?s maiden outing after a complete restoration was completed only weeks ago. The car runs a Ford Escort drive train and is a beautiful piece of work. At the other end of the size scale was Peter Waghorn?s 1959/60 Pontiac Laurentian which, if nothing else, exemplifies the notion of ?nothing succeeds like excess? a common theme with American manufacturers of that era. In between these two extremes we could place Ray Youlden?s recently acquired AMG C63 Benz. The mid-sized German sedan may not have the same acreage of sheetmetal as the Pontiac, but when it comes to cubic inches, the 6.2 litre V8 is not lacking excess.
The morning passed quickly with people catching on each other?s? latest news and admiring the machinery on display. By 10am the car park was beginning to return to its regular function, with spaces vacated by our classics filling up with Hyundais, Camrys and non-descript SUVs. It had been a special morning that had reminded us about what we had missed out on during the successive lockdown periods. We all hope that the State?s new Hotel Quarantine Controls work effectively and the resumption of our monthly gatherings can continue unabated.
