The Stolen Hours by Karen Swan Rosemary’s Book of the...
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Twilight Talks 2023 | Season 2, Session 3
Session 3:
Early Australian Motoring
It wasn’t long after the appearance of the motor car on Victorian roads in the late 19th century before the growing number of vehicles made it difficult to maintain any effective regulation or control. In January 1910 the Victorian Motor Car Act which came into effect providing the regulatory framework for registration and licensing. The digital era has seen many new resources become available to researchers. Access to the early registration records has shed a new light on the stories behind the members of Ballarat’s population fortunate enough to be able to afford a motor car prior to WW1. These are some of those stories.
Daryl Meek
Daryl is a historic motoring enthusiast and historian. Having previously served as an Army Officer, followed by a career as an Air Traffic Controller, he most recently retired from the position of Motoring Interests Manager for the RACV. He is a founding member of Automotive Historians Australia and is the Vice-President of the Veteran Car Club of Australia in Victoria. In his retirement he remains an enthusiastic vehicle restorer who maintains his own fleet of historic vehicles, spending most of his spare time researching and writing early Australian motoring history. Daryl lives in a converted church in central Ballarat with his partner Fiona and 300 vintage dresses.
John Lewis
John is a retired Civil Engineer, Developer.
Born in Ballarat, he worked at CRB, Borough of Sebastopol, City of Ballarat, VicRoads, Sovereign Concrete Pty Ltd. and Sovereign Hill Museums.
From an early age he was keen on anything with an engine, including owning 4 or 5 motor bikes before being licenced.
He sold his university car (an MG B) for a deposit on 25 acres in Durham Lead, and he is still there today.
All types of cars have been his interest, but his collection of 20 or so, all fall in the classic category, i.e. manufactured after 1930, some that he will talk about on the night are:
- 1937 Standard Coventry (Dr Blake Vehicle)
- 1946 Fordson 10/10 Van
- 1970 Le Mans Porsche 917
- Silver Spirit Rolls Royce
- MB SL 500
- Porsche 356
- Porsche SC 911
- Three MB
Cost & Bookings | $8 per person BMI members | $12 per person regular
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