Terribly British Day in Australia

The “Terribly British Day” supported by the Council of ACT Motor Clubs and organized by the Jaguar car club, was held on Sunday 7 December 2014. This event encompasses all makes and models of British cars. The day dawned bright and sunny, in complete contrast to the night before when a deluge descended on Canberra while members were enjoying their Christmas function. 

The event had to be moved from the lawns adjacent to the National Library to the old Treasury car park due to the inclement weather the night before. This was in many ways beneficial to owners.

Eight Siddeleys attended, seven from Canberra and one from New South Wales, a record not surpassed for many years. Former member Steph Van der Plaat arrived in is restored MK2 now fitted with bucket seats. Peter Funnell a former Sydney resident now residing in Goulburn NSW, arrived in his MK2, a round trip of 200 kms. Shawn O’Brien also produced his MK2. David Whittem arrived in his Star, the only locally-registered Star in Canberra. 236's owned by Ian Handley and Andrew Clearwater presented a pleasing contrast to the 346/Star models on display as did Chris Aplin and Geoff Tuckwell in their respective 16HP vehicles.

Quite a few members of the public were inquisitive about Armstrong Siddeleys aided by the display boards originating from the South Australian Branch: Where were they manufactured, how does a preselector gearbox work, how old are they, where do you get parts for them, (when did British Leyland take them over!) plus the usual memories of Station Coupe/Utility models: My Grandad had one of those and so on.

An enjoyable day was had by all.

Geoff Tuckwell
Canberra Branch Secretary.

P.S. The date on the images is incorrect.

Posted in Events on the 31st January 2015 at 3:41pm.

Tags: Australia, events, British