George Green Goes to Cowra
Report by Ken Swinbourne
Photos by Photos by Syd Reinhardt and Dave Stuart
Report by Ken Swinbourne
Last week nearly forty Club cars - and their occupants - met at Cowra which was the base for this year’s George Green Rally. Most had gathered on Monday for lunch at Berrima, and then overnight at Goulburn. On Tuesday we headed for Cowra by way of Crookwell where we visited an alpaca farm and heard all about these friendly and quiet animals. I’m glad there wasn’t a test afterwards; I’m sure I couldn’t have remembered it all. Lunch was in Boorowa before we went to Cowra.
Our host and hostess at the motel in Cowra were an entertainment in themselves. Apparently, the locals call them “Basil and Sybil”, and they provided us with plenty of topics for conversation. The most dramatic moment was at breakfast when some unfortunate person tried to take a glass, and the whole tray smashed to the floor. Some tense moments followed, and I was glad that I wasn’t a member of the staff that day.
On Wednesday we drove to Canowindra to visit the Age of Fishes Museum which houses a few of the ancient fossils of fish that were found under a large area near the town. Most of them are still under the fields. It is certainly worth a visit, but one has to take the time to read about what one is looking at or listen to a guide. A sensible plan has been to make fibre-glass casts of many of the exhibits, so visitors can touch them, and so that they have been able to make positive casts as well, making the fish easier to see.
Lunch that day was at Eugowra where the family that runs the roomy café served us with big smiles. Our lunch was interrupted by “bushrangers” who held us up and demanded money for their men’s and women’s sheds. Outside the café was a sign saying “Welcome to the VSCCA. Thank you for supporting our regional towns,” which I thought was a very nice gesture.
The next day we visited the motor museum at Forbes, which was remarkably good for something I didn’t know about previously. On Friday we went to see the Japanese Garden at Cowra, something I have been meaning to go to for a long time, but never managed to get to. This too is certainly worth a visit. It is beautifully designed and meticulously kept. The cloud-clipped shrubs, on close inspection, turned out to be either Australian native plants or exotics which grow well here. This makes sense: the effect was exactly that of a Japanese garden, but there was no worry about the plants surviving in this climate. I certainly want to go back to see it again.
I haven’t mentioned the sheepdog display, or the meals with enormous servings. Was this country-style hospitality, or creeping Americanism? I was unable to finish most meals.
We had an excellent and interesting roll-up of cars. It’s not possible to mention them all but Greg Mackie’s newly acquired 30/98 Vauxhall with its original d/h coupé body is worth mentioning. So too are those who drove to join us from Queensland, Joe & Bev Wilson in a Citroen light 15 roadster and Graham & Dorothy Singer in a Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce. Bill Hall, assisted by Simon Agar came in the 1910 RR, but unfortunately, Glyn Farrell from Victoria wasn’t able to come in his 1912 Hispano Suisa. Rex & Nora Vincent kindly invited me to go with them which was delightful, but I had a day in the Chrysler with Doug McKay, which was great fun. He told me the car was bought new by his grandfather, and that he himself came home from the hospital in it when he was born.
The prize for the best story at the breakfast table goes to Syd Reinhardt. We were talking about the pot-holed roads after all the rain, and Syd said that he’d been out in his Lotus over similar roads. The tray under the engine became loose and he went into a garage to ask if he could use the hoist. Syd commented on all the pot-holes and asked how long the road had been like that. The garage man said, “Listen mate. Some of those pot-holes are heritage-listed.”
Thanks to Julie and Royce for another very enjoyable rally. We appreciate all your efforts in preparing them for us. ~ KLen Swinbourne
