Auto collectors cruise to Swanport Reserve
Members of a Murray Bridge club have enjoyed a relatively peaceful run to a local picnic spot – this time, at least.
This story was contributed by Di Dawson and Graham Edwards.
The Auto Collectors Club of Murray Bridge’s annual cruise night on Friday, February 9 invited 13 vehicles and 28 members, partners and friends to choose their own route to cruise through the town on a mild summer evening to meet at Swanport Reserve, an attractive lawned riverside reserve situated on the southern side of Murray Bridge adjacent to a picturesque section of the River Murray which is usually a relatively quiet picnic and fishing spot.
However, on a previous occasion some little corellas decided to also entertain themselves in the area and, at around 6pm, the perfect time for what seemed like a nice relaxing picnic tea, an incredibly loud jumble of squawking voices flew in and proceeded to race from tree to tree screeching with as much volume as they could muster.
After they departed it was much quieter and, as one would say, “they’re like Collingwood: you either love them or you hate them”.
On this occasion they were relatively well behaved, causing only minor disruption and, given the informal nature of the event, members were able to socialise and conversations flowed as individual picnics and platters were shared around.
Among the visitors present were club member Malina Bretag’s parents, who were visiting from Queensland.
Like the members of the club, the ages of the vehicles present varied from late models to the oldies; in particular, the 1926 Chevrolet truck of Eric Wehrmann and the 1925 Chevrolet bread van of Trevor Wehrmann, together with the handsome 1929 Dodge DA of John and Vicki Courtney, were wonderful examples of the “oldies” and a credit to their owners for the restorative work carried out by them.
One is always surprised by what Claude and Liz Minge will bring out of the box, if you’ll excuse the pun for a former undertaker; this time it was a 1970 300SE Mercedes sedan, a superior example of German engineering.
Jan Hall’s comments of “perfect weather for going topless” was taken seriously by Jerry and Kerry Wilson in their 1960 convertible Chevrolet Corvette, along with Bruce and Di Dawson’s 1958 Austin Healey, Ms Hall’s convertible BMW, David Smyth’s BMW Motorsport Roadster and Cecily Graetz in her convertible Mercedes.
It is always interesting when a group of people from diverse backgrounds come together with the common thread being an interest in cars, particularly vintage, classic and other unique vehicles; you may likely find yourself sitting next to a complete stranger and asking the question “what car did you drive here today?”
The conversation continues and a new friendship is made.
Club president Harry Howitt and treasurer and event coordinator Ms Hall agreed it had been a top gathering of like-minded motoring enthusiasts once again, with great weather to boot.
They thanked everyone for attending and wished them a safe journey home.
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