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THE MG CAR CLUB of WESTERN AUSTRALIA inc. A potted History by Syd.Sunter-Smith I suppose many clubs have a history of success and failure and the path of the MG.Car Club of Western Australia is no less chequered than many. I hope the following is some interest to you. Our Club evolved from a loose association of young MG owners, some of whom worked together and often congregated at Bernies Hamburger Bar by the river where the idea of a club was often discussed. The first meeting of about ten owners was held on Graham Sully’s father’s veranda and subsequently at a variety of venues including the Swan River Yacht Club and the Mt.Lawley Tennis Club. The saga of suitable clubrooms seemed to go on forever. Perhaps the main difficulty was establishing a permanent home for the club. In 1987 after much labouring and developing skills by Members and by putting Club finances in peril, a clubhouse constructed of fibro with a corrugated iron roof was opened in time for the Club’s 25th anniversary. However, situated as it was in a paddock on the outskirts of Perth it was soon vandalised and stripped of anything of value including the plumbing and electrical fittings! A subsequent sub rental arrangement with a sister motoring club ended in court resulting in a substantial loss of club funds and once again we were without a permanent home. The current brick clubrooms on which we have long leases have been renovated by the Club to a very high standard complete with kitchen, storeroom, library, TV\Video and room to display a car for technical nights or general waffle. It is to be hoped that this is our final move with perhaps the next logical step being freehold to guarantee security of tenure? The Club magazine is ‘The Octagon’ and is the principle source of communication for members and is the major item of expenditure. For several years a ‘Yearbook’ highlighting the past year’s activity was produced and was an excellent publication indeed. Unfortunately the last edition was in 1992 due in the main to the huge cost of production…..Pity really. Over the years , activity has been a mix of social and competition events. Annual highlights include our Safety Fast Run which is a two day country run, the Abingdon Speed Classic; a series of one hour team relays on a race track, Winter Woolies run, Twilight Navigation trials, Concourse day, Wine runs, riverside picnics and culminating in the Presentation Dinner at Christmas. Many of our members are regular competitors in inter club events such as hillclimbs, motorkhanas, marque racing, navigation trials and rallies and historic meetings including ‘around the houses regularity runs’. Each State or Territory in Australia take turns annually to host the MG National Meeting held over the four day Easter weekend. Not withstanding that we live several thousand kilometres from the Natmeet in most centres in the Eastern states, we nonetheless have several people attending, many driving their MGs across the 1500 km of the virtually uninhabited Nullarbor Plain. In 1995 we hosted the National meeting titled “MGs Downunder 1995”….”an International MG Meeting”. The year was of course the 50th anniversary of the MG TC which was therefore the feature model and theme of the event. Jean Kimber Cook was our special guest joined by a large contingent of enthusiasts from across the country and overseas. The goodwill and camaraderie was something to behold with the weekend extending to a week long round of fun including several days touring our beautiful South-west and culminating with a day at Barbagallo Raceway where many visitors took the opportunity to do a few laps in cars loaned by local members. A great deal of work by many people (although too few) resulted in what was a rewarding, memorable and enjoyable experience for participants and onlookers alike. I trust the foregoing conveys some impression of our Club which currently has a membership of around 250, is dynamic and looking forward to being part of sports car history as we enter the new millennium. So whoever you are and wherever you come from please make yourselves known when you next visit this wonderful part of the world. |
