2022 is a year of firsts at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, and for the first time this year there will be a daily vintage car parade at 5pm. Each day at the Show, a different car club will be parked in The Paddock on Showground Road.
The Veteran Car Club of Australia was parked at the Show on Monday, the 11th of April. The Club was founded in 1954 to preserve and restore cars that were built before 1919. “Commonly people think they are a vintage car, which is up to 1930. Pre-1919, anything before that we class our cars as veterans,” said Phil O’Loan, president of the Veteran Car Club of Australia.
“Obviously we just like to showcase the cars and we’re always in the hope of finding a few more members, because like a lot of car clubs or clubs generally, that’s one of our issues, declining membership. So we hope that by being here today that there might just be someone who as a result gives us a call or goes onto our website and has a look,” says Graeme Newman, event coordinator for the Veteran Car Club.
Image: Tristan Black
The vehicles are so old that their preservation often requires members of the club to make spare parts from scratch. “It’s a very close network of contacts that helps us keep these cars on the road,” says Phil O’Loan. These cars have no seatbelts, no blinkers, and just a handbrake for the main break. “You have to be very defensive when you drive the vehicles, but as long as you’re aware of other vehicles and the vehicles are aware of you it’s relatively safe,” said Mr. O’Loan.
These care are sure to get a lot of attention at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. “A lot of people appreciate them on the road…lots of waves, lots of attention,” said Mr. O’Loan.
The vintage car parade takes place at 5pm each day.
If you want to hear Tristan’s full interview with the Veteran Car Club and a honk from the horn of a veteran car, listen below.
