The trip north was uneventful except having to negotiate two sections of reseal on Spring Hill, which was done at a greatly reduced speed by us and all around thankfully. It also made us realise that a black car does have some advantages e.g. hard to see tar spots on it. Anyway the weather gods were kind to us and we arrived at the Colonial Inn in good time and in one piece. After booking in we then readied ourselves for the Rally's opening function, a barbeque on "The Verandah". It was good to meet everyone, especially those who we hadn't seen in some time, and in particular seeing Geoff looking good after his recent surgery.
Saturday dawned fine, as forecast, and the car was given a final wash before breakfast and heading down to Royal Park. Once we were in position the car was given a final going over and then it was a matter of waiting for the merry band of judges to arrive. While we waited it was an opportunity to have a look at the rest of the assembled finery, around 46 Jaguars that is, as well as the other British Clubs which included Triumphs, Rolls Royces, Fords, Minis, MGs to mention a few of the 100 or so cars assembled. It was a great turnout and venue.
With 15 cars to be judged the judges were kept very busy and managed to finish their work by early afternoon, giving us the opportunity to breath a sigh of relief, repack the cars and have another look around at the display. It was great to see a lot of new cars in the display and hopefully the Club will get some new members, as it was a great demonstration of a Club activity. Thanks to Hobart Jaguar there was a latest XF-R on display, which was under the control of Des Wighton who guarded the keys fiercely, and quite justifiably as there were quite a few of us who would have absconded with it given the chance. Unfortunately the weather turned somewhat and the strong winds brought a premature end to proceedings as the pergolas were nearly turned into para-gliders. It must be said that our scorers Jenni and Athalie did a fantastic job under the conditions and deserve a special thanks for their efforts. The judges are also thanked for their efforts, as it can be a thankless task at times.
Once we had returned to the Colonial we had a chance to relax a little before the evening function. Once everyone was assembled at The Gov'nors Table, Tony detailed proceedings and the evening got under way. A nice touch was a lucky menu prize with a number of people leaving with bottles of wine or Repco products, and a very lucky Judy Cummins winning a pack of Tony's famous fudge.
The prizegiving followed the meal and everyone's efforts were soon to be rewarded. When it was announced that there were no bronze awards in D'Elegance we thought we might get a silver, but no, another surprise; lo and behold we had achieved gold, which certainly exceeded our expectations, and when it was announced we had won the Trevor Delaney Memorial Trophy for Concours D'Elegance State Champion we were completely blown away. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to win such a prestigious award, considering all the other fine Jaguars being judged. Congratulations to all the other entrants on their respective awards.
Sunday saw us sleep in somewhat before meeting everyone at the Motor Museum before heading off to Brickendon in a large and spectacular Jaguar convoy. Louise and Richard Archer, who are 7th generation descendants of the original founders of the property, gave us a very informative guided tour of their farm and it was refreshing to see a family committed to retaining and preserving their family and the nation's heritage and sharing it with everyone. Following the tour we were treated to lunch before everyone started to make steps for home after saying their goodbyes. Some ventured across the road to view the magnificent rambling English style gardens surrounding the main house which are reported one of the best of their kind in Australia.
So it was then off home bringing to an end a very remarkable weekend, one that will be remembered by Diane and I for a long time to come. Finally we would like to thank all those involved with the organisation and in particular to Geoff and Tony; well done!
- Brian and Diane Spencer
You can find pictures of the Rally in the Galleries, and the Rally results here.