It was a beautiful evening for a top-down drive to the Drouin Golf Club, so it was pleasing to see so many roadsters taking advantage of this last opportunity to enjoy one of our meetings whilst daylight savings is still with us. We managed to gather a reasonable number of sporting vehicles immediately outside the clubrooms prior to dinner and as well as being a focal point for members, they looked great as the twilight slowly faded to dark.
This monthly meeting coincided with our Annual General Meeting which was dispensed with in a record breaking time of just under last year?s effort of 4 minutes. In summary, the Committee remains pretty much the same, however, Graeme Hollingsworth, Bob Murphy and John Weymouuth, have decided to step down. They were publicly thanked by our President, Mark McKibbin, for their long and illustrious service to the Club. Ray Youlden, who organises our monthly meeting display vehicles, has filled the Vice President?s position vacated by Graeme Hollingsworth, and the only other item of business was to ratify the current membership subscription rates, and that was carried without dissent.
Our regular monthly meeting followed the dessert course, and then we invited our guests Paul and Mariella Kirkham, to tell us about their epic journey competing with Max. the Datsun 1600, in last year?s Peking to Paris Rally.
The Rally was conducted in May and June of last year with over 12,500kms of driving through the remote regions of China, Mongolia, Russia, the Ukraine and Europe. They endured all sorts of conditions, from the arid and rough deserts of Mongolia where there were no roads and navigation was purely by Sat Nav, to the snow-capped Swiss Alps. Thirty three days of driving including timed competition sections such as navigation stages through the desert, as well as hillclimbs and circuit sprints. The car, which is considerably strengthened and modified, was prepared by Les Collins at his workshop in Warragul. It performed brilliantly and carried them to the position of 4th outright and second in class from a field of 96 starters.? Paul and Mariella thoroughly enjoyed the event and remarked on how friendly and helpful they found the people of the places they passed through. They have also made lasting relationships with many of the other competitors, and are now preparing a 1930?s Ford for a rally through Asia next year.
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