Australian MG Magnette Weekend Away - 2007

The Australian Magnetteers held their second National Magnette weekend in the rural city of Wagga Wagga, in southern New South Wales. Malcolm Robertson reports……

Following on from the success of the first Australian Magnette weekend away, in which nine cars participated, the second Magnette “national meeting” was held at Wagga Wagga, the home of an annual Gathering of the Faithful organised by the MG Car Club of Wagga Wagga. Wagga Wagga is one of Australia’s largest inland cities, located in southern New South Wales, and the GOF weekend coincides with an annual jazz festival and an antiques fair, so there is plenty to do for visitors. Wagga Wagga also boasts Australia’s largest art gallery specialising in glass artworks. Among the ninety or so MGs that participated in GOF 2007, a select group of ten Z Magnettes and one Farina stood out from the crowd with their stylish coachwork and friendly crews!

The Magnette gathering was master-minded by Peter Baldry from the Sydney MG Car Club who drove his black ZA with Matt Sainsbury as navigator. Accompanying them in convoy from Sydney for the 300 mile trip to Wagga Wagga were Brian and Julia Woolmer in their red ZA on its first long trip, Barbara and David Overington from Wollongong in their green ZB (you will remember that they were stymied by their jammed petrol cap last year), Marty and Fran Cutler and their two boys, Joel and Alex, in their Birch Grey ZA, and last but by no means least, Richard and Sandra Best in their red ZA. Joining this intrepid crew at Wagga Wagga were Helen and Terry Healy in their newly acquired dark blue ZB (ex-Peter Paske), Malcolm Robertson, his partner Gaye and their daughter Leah from Canberra in “Alison”, their well-travelled ZB Varitone, Graham Hamilton from Cowra in his ZA and Tony Oliver from Gloucester in his ZA. Also in Wagga Wagga the travellers met up with Peter and Patricia Daley from Canberra in their green ZA and Gary Croker with the Farina Magnette MkIV he had just bought from Peter.

Despite the promised attendance of a brigade of Magnettes from the MG Car Club of Victoria, none managed to make it across the border to Wagga Wagga, but never-the-less, ten Z Magnettes and one Farina nudged the number of cars at the gathering just over last year’s nine so all who attended were delighted.

Highlights of the weekend, or low lights perhaps, were the ever-present fuel pump problems in one or two of the cars, but generally all the cars managed the quite long journeys with their usual reliability. Tony Oliver travelled the furthest with a round trip from Gloucester totaling a trouble free (well, almost!) 1159 miles (nearly 2000 kms) and Terry Healy won the “best Magnette” award from the GOF organisers.

Peter Baldry is now waiting to hear from Paul Vermont in Victoria about the next “national” Magnette get-together where some joint planning might create an event rivally the UK’s Norwich Weekend. Magnetteers in other corners of the Australian wide brown land who might like to the next “national” are
invited to contact either Paul or Peter to register their interest. You can find them on the Bulletin Board through any of the Aussies who post regularly.

Malcolm Robertson

September 2007