Over a quarter of a century ago a group of motor vehicle enthusiasts started meeting in private homes throughout the Southern Highlands to share their knowledge and their ideas on restoring old cars. One of these enthusiasts was Alan Barker.
They started out to form a club and under the guidance of CHACA and The South Coast Vintage Car Club they became the Bowral Branch of the Southern Highlands Vintage Car Club with a $50 donation from their parent club
However, they felt the need to change the name when the title clashed with the local sports car club.
As their membership covered the area from Goulburn to Camden, Campbelltown and with members from as far away as Canberra they chose the name The Berrima District Historic Vehicle Club.
From small beginnings the club now boasts a membership of over 140.
It would be difficult to estimate the number of vehicles that can be seen at the different rallies as many of the members have more than one and are in the throngs of restoring many more.
Alan was first interested in old vehicles when , in 1972, he went to an car rally.
“I became infected with the bug,” said Allan and from there on he has been busy working on his vehicles.
At the recent Australia Day gathering he drove his 1960 Humber Hawk. He purchased this vehicle from a lady in Bundanoon who had bought it brand new. The original sales dockets are still in the vehicle.
There are a number of classifications within their club with Veteran being 1900 to 1918; Vintage from 1918 to 1930; then the’30s to ‘50s era; the ‘60s era and the classics. Their club is not restricted to cars as historic vehicles of any nature are welcome including motorbikes.
Alan has lived in Mittagong for the last 36 years and has four children and five grandchildren.
“I’m never allowed to sell any of my cars,” said Alan. “My kids have already decided that.”
Alan has a few projects underway and is always on the lookout for spare parts.
“I’m looking for bits for my 1907 Darracq,” he said, although he knows who has them it is just a matter of convincing them that they want to sell, or swap them with him.
It was with the intent of having many more people to swap with that the Berrima District Historic Vehicle Club started their annual Car Swap at Bargo. This event , which is in March every year, was started so that members could swap parts with one another and with members from other clubs.
The event has grown from a couple of dozen sites in the first year to around 1800 sites.
Several years ago it outgrew the facility available at The Bargo Sportsground and moved to the old Agview site in Camden. This site has proved very popular and the event has grown from a one day event to a weekend event.
“There is a lot more available now than just car parts,” said Alan as other stall holders have taken advantage of the huge crowds that frequent the swap meet.
Among Alan’s collection are a 1927 International truck, 1915 Overland, 1938 Pontiac and a 1960 Humber Hawk. It is the Humber that Alan take on most of his runs.
He has travelled all around Tasmania with the car club as well as participating in the Pan Pacific Rally in New Zealand.
He was astounded at the generosity of the members of the New Zealand Club who lent him a 1928 Hupp Mobile for the 10 days of the rally.
It was not only the car, but also the house that he was permitted to borrow “Just feed the cat and the dog” were the only conditions. The Hub Rally was over the 10 days with around 1200 vehicles taking part.
The Pan Pacific is on every four years and Alan plans to go to the next one. “They out do us by miles,” he said although he does enjoy all the local rallies as well.
The next big rally is on February 17 and 18 and members from many other clubs take the opportunity to participate.
When the club celebrated their 21st anniversary Alan was one of the members who was awarded a Life membership for his commitment to the club.
He has spent much time under his vehicles and if one of his children was missing they were probably under the car with dad “helping.”
Alan encourages all those who are interested in old vehicles to come along to their next rally on February 17 when their vehicles will gather and be judged at Mittagong.
He does believe that it is harder and harder to get old cars to restore as the many enthusiasts generally have more than one car to work on and there “aren’t too many dead bodies around” waiting to be discovered and restored.
“You achieve a great deal of satisfaction seeing the result of all your work on the road,” concluded Alan.
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